Any Questions?
by Michelle Claire Williams
Summary: Susan Lewis is assigned to the GCPD by Wayne Enterprises on her return to Gotham. Whilst working there she meets odd and eccentric 'Riddle Man' Edward Nygma, out of seemingly nowhere an awkward friendship starts to develops into obsessive love and Susan starts to find her mind invaded, possessed and controlled. Mind Games are so delectable and Edward knows them all. ENxOC. Dom/Sub.
1. The Return

**This is my first attempt at a Gotham fanfiction, the story is set after Edward Nygma's fall from grace and the murder of Kristen Kringle but before he is caught by Jim Gordon, it centre's around his split personality and inner struggle of Edward vs Dark Ed. The story will eventually delve into a dominant/submissive style relationship however as the description suggests this story revolves around mind games. Enjoy ;)**

* * *

'A nightmare for some. For others, as a saviour I come. My hands, cold and bleak, it's the warm hearts I seek.'

* * *

 _I never thought in my wildest dreams the outcome of this fixation...it had started small at first, just a glimmer in the darkness but it had grown quickly, steadily and then as if out of nowhere I'd fallen in love and I couldn't escape it... I know now that it had been so dangerous to even start anything in the first place but I couldn't resist. I didn't want to... I still don't._

* * *

Susan stared out of the window of the bullet train watching the city looming into view, the tall skyscrapers piercing the dark gloomy polluted skies above. Gotham felt different, darker and stranger, more foreboding than when she had left. It had been nearly five years since she'd left for Kuala Lumpur with the rest of her small selected team from the computer sciences division of Wayne Enterprises and she hadn't looked back once.

Recently there had been problems over here at the heart of the company and many overseas teams had been recalled because she funding had been cut suddenly. Susan had had to pack up her belongs along with the others and head back to Gotham pretty quickly, the whole thing has been within a matter of days and her head was still spinning from jetlag and uproot from her now established home. Relationships, both friendship and something more had been severed so quickly she hadn't even had time to process how she was feeling, all she knew was that her body and mind were exhausted and she just wanted to sleep.

The quick upheaval had meant that Susan had had barely any time to source somewhere to stay, she'd been unable to contact her estranged parents or anyone she used to know in the city so for now she'd booked a couple of nights in a hotel close to Wayne Enterprises until she could find somewhere suitable to live. Gotham was somewhere she did not want to be, she'd read the recent headlines on the plane and train journey and she felt sick to her stomach with everything that was happening there. However she didn't have any choice but to return, with no money stored away having had her accommodation, food and expenses paid overseas by the company she didn't have two pennies to rub tougher until they sorted a new living situation for her.

Susan was stuck in this godforsaken place and she wanted to get out of it before she'd even returned.

Susan sat in the brightly lit office at the base of Wayne Enterprises main building alongside many other confused looking individuals all with slight sun kissed skin like herself. Plucked from paradise and sent straight to the pits of hell. She looked around the minimalist surroundings at the obscure blocky art on the wall accompanied by the glass tables and one solitary wilting plant in the window, the place was grey and devoid of colour unlike her paradise in the sun and she felt her heart fall another inch or two at the thought of what she'd left behind.

Everyone in the waiting room was eventually led into a board room and seated in hard leather chairs as they were presented the future of their lives in a PowerPoint presentation under false lighting. It became apparent that her division was to be split up across the expanse of WE, some of them were to work internally and some externally. At the end of the presentation they were handed brown A4 packs which would outline their tasks for the upcoming year and then led out of the office and forced on their way.

Susan's pack had been disappointing and mundane against her skills; a new system was being implemented in the GCPD, a high security system for tracking cases. Having worked on security previously, headed and trained a team over in Kuala Lumpur she'd been the obvious and only choice to place in the position but she had hoped for an internal position, not to be shoved straight into the lions den without a clue what was really going on in this place.

There were still a lot of unanswered questions the presentation had left and Susan was desperate to know their answers; she collared the receptionist on the way out with a bombardment of things including wages and living and was disappointed to hear that they would all be given a meagre living expenses allowance and a normal wage which would be paid in a months time. Susan's tired mind had snapped and she'd argued with the woman, whose fault it clearly hadn't been, then found herself sat outside on the wall by the fountain crying into her hands wondering how things had been so right a few days ago and now so hopeless today.

After a while she wiped her red face and pulled out her company cell phone, the only good thing to come out the meeting, she breathed deeply and called her family home for the first time in years. A woman answered the phone and Susan asked for her father, the woman on the phone was silent for a matter of moments and then replied that they were now the owners of the house and that they had been for some time, the woman explained that her parents had been killed in a shooting a few years back and Susan cut the line.

Overhead the skies were blackening and night was drawing in quickly, the anxious citizens of the city darted about eager to get back to their homes and families, oblivious to the broken woman sat solitary and silent, lost and giving up, just like everyone in this black pit.


	2. A Fresh Start

'I am the beginning of the end, the end of every place. I am the beginning of eternity, the end of time and space. What am I?'

* * *

Susan had been given bereavement leave for a week after finding out about her parents, she'd travelled to Gotham cemetery to lay flowers and pay her respects and tried to contact what little relations she had but to no avail, they were either uncontactable or already knew and cared no more. She'd never felt more alone and trapped here, she felt like she couldn't breathe in the polluted air and all hopes and dreams had been suffocated by this place.

The time off had given her ample time to see Gotham as it really was, the violence, the murder on the streets, the crime and the destitute. She'd seen it all within fourty eight hours of being there and now it seemed everywhere she turned it was staring her in the face, she felt sick and frightened.

Susan sat in the hotel room on her final night before starting at the GCPD eating cheap and tasteless takeaway watching the news unfold, there has been several reports of shootings, robberies and an assortment of gang warfare fed to her but she had barely been shocked by this, Gotham was no longer a morbid surprise to her, she was numb to the city and the events unfolding within it, she'd come to accept it just like everyone else.

The news highlighted a story about Jim Gordon, a police officer from the GCPD and highlights for the Galavan case, for the third time that day she'd been sat shut away in the hotel room. Susan had known Jim casually, their fathers had worked together when she was younger and they'd met a few times at family get togethers so the first time she had seen the story she'd been surprised to hear how such a normal guy could have climbed up the ranks of the GCPD when she'd first seen the story a few days ago, but today it hardly skimmed her surface and she looked away with empty eyes.

Laying on the bed in a ball she stared out of the window across the city scape with the tv turned low for comfort and so she didn't feel alone. Tomorrow would see the start of her new role and life at the GCPD and she wasn't looking forward to it at all, she'd already started looking for employment out of the city and had applied for a few lower paid jobs just to get her out of there, all she would have to do is wait now for those replies and get the hell out of here as quick as she could.

Gotham GCPD was a buzzing hive of activity as she stood aside the doorway clutching the bag on her shoulder and brown envelope to her chest watching the department in full daily swing. The place was like a department store on Christmas Eve, she'd seen busy places but this was overwhelming.

A police intern spotted her and stopped in his tracks and asked Susan if she needed any help, she quickly explained her circumstances and her purposes and he smiled weakly leading her over the commissioners office where she sat outside waiting to be called in for her debriefing. Susan had been sat there about fourty minutes nervously watching as brawling screeching criminals were escorted into the building and sometimes throw into the lockup or taken away to whatever fate she had no idea.

Susan was called into the office eventually where she sat in front of the balding commissioner Barnes who stared at her suspiciously through fake friendly eyes and spoke to her through a fake friendly tone, it was obvious that Susan was just another hindrance to put up with when the man had bigger things on his plate.  
The commissioner smiled and waved Susan on her way after calling one of the police interns back into the office and giving them direct instructions that she would have to work from the back first as not to 'disrupt' important police matters. Susan had never felt so useless and unwanted in her life, what was she doing here? Why didn't she just up and leave now?

Susan sat in front of the old computer system in a dusty old back office stacked high to the rafters with files on every surface she laid her eyes on, the window on one side of the room barely visible through the muck on the outside. This was where she would be working from for the next God knows how long but at least she was on her own out of the way of the shitstorm going on out front; she could pretty much do what she wanted without being bothered, no one could tell when she would be procrastinating in an attempt to lengthen her stay and find another job more quickly.

The day wore on into the late afternoon, people had come in and out over the course of the day to pick up and drop off files that didn't look like they were going to be filed anytime soon, even officer Gordon had passed through once or twice but he's not recognised her from childhood; she'd spent the last half an hour scouting for a cheap city apartment on the lettings site whilst hidden low in her chair behind the screen trying to avoid the eye contact of police officers using the place as a cut through to the coffee making facilities. Susan hadn't been fruitful at all, Wayne Enterprises hotel expenses were up at the end of the week and the living expenses offered to her were meagre, she would have to seek further afield for accommodation and travel on the tube to get to work.

Susan got up with a tired sigh and walked into the break room and started to boil the kettle, only an hour left and she would be free to escape back to the safety of her bubble in the hotel room, the day had dragged and she felt every day coming would be exactly the same. The kettle switch flicked and she poured the water into her mug, as she did she heard the office door open and shut quickly and Susan closed her eyes and breathed a deep breath knowing she would have to make some sort of strained conversations with a member of the division but as she waited no one came into the room, maybe someone had changed their mind.

Susan smiled smugly relieved she would have to speak to anyone and picked up her brew returning back to her desk but when she turned the corner of the break room her smile dropped as her eyes landed on a bespectacled man stood near her computer looking down at the screen with his own smug smile, then his eyes met hers but his smile didn't waver.


	3. Mr E

'The less of me you have, the more I am worth.'

* * *

Susan stared at the man who in turn stared back at her still wearing the smug look on his face, Susan didn't know what to say, who on earth was he and was he going to tell the commissioner about her lackadaisical approach to her role on her first day.

"Can I help you?" Susan asked as she looked the skinny man up and down with a flick of her wary eyes.

The man chuckled to himself and pushed up his glasses picking up some files on the desk next to her computer station and moving away from it signalling to her that she could sit back down. "I have everything I came for." The man said holding the files up momentarily then placing them down on a free cabinet and flicking through the pages, his eyes scanning through the print for whatever he had had come for.

Susan eyebrows furrowed and her eyes narrowed as she went back to sit at the desk not taking her gaze off him for a moment. The man was tall and as she'd noted before rather slim like he hadn't been eating well for sometime, he had short brown hair combed over neatly to the side and held himself with an air of certainty coupled with a social awkwardness that she could relate to.

She closed the lettings window on the Internet quickly and went back to her programming for the remainder of the day but then the man cut the silence and spoke making her jolt slightly.

"You won't find anything cheap within a good two mile radius of this place if that's what you were hoping."

Susan's eyes strayed over to the man who was still looking at his paperwork, "Thanks, I'll keep that in mind." She said bluntly sipping at her coffee and breathing deeply, it wasn't really the thing she'd wanted to hear.

"Edward." The man said making her look up from her screen to him once again, "Edward Nygma, head of the forensics department here." He smiled with his head cocked to one side looking her over with mild interest.

"Susan Lewis." Susan said quickly going back to her work, she wasn't in the mood for small talk, she wanted this day over with as soon as possible.  
"Ah," the man named Edward said, "So you're the Wayne Enterprises employee, not a replacement for Ms. Kringle." He placed the file down and feigned a little more interest for the woman in front of him.

Edward gave the woman, Susan Lewis, further inspection now he knew that she wasn't just some dull paper pusher replacement for his cold lifeless ex girlfriend buried under several layers of earth and snow. The woman before him looked up curiously every now and then from her screen but mainly couldn't hold eye contact with him for very long which either meant she wasn't adept in social situations or she really didn't want him to be there making her feel uncomfortable, he could see her squirming under his gaze slightly, or so he thought. Susan was in her late twenties he guessed with shoulder length rich brown hair curling in around her face and blue cautious eyes peering at him when she thought he wasn't looking, she was slender with pale slightly sun kissed skin, coupled with her awkward attitude, lack of willingness to work and slumped posture he guessed that she'd been put in this position against her will, possibly one of the employees dragged back from overseas. Yes it all added up, he could speak about his deduction with certainty, Edward applauded himself internally though really it had been an easy riddle to solve.

"A change in wardrobe might be advisable too, Gotham climate tends to be more chilly than the Southern Asia temperatures you're used to." Edward grinned waiting for her to look up at him in amazement but Susan kept her head lowered and took another sip of her tea.

Susan wanted 'Edward' to go away, his smarmy and smug attitude along with his unawareness of when to keep his mouth closed was starting to get her back up but she wondered if it was just her, was he trying to be clever or was he trying to initiate some sort of social compassion towards her in his own style, either way he was still extremely strange and exhausting in her current state of mind.

"I have lived here before." Susan said looking up from her screen with a slight smile, "Thanks for the advice though." Susan looked Edward straight in the eyes and held his gaze for a few moments before wishing she hadn't, it was if he were looking right into her soul, trying to work out the inner recesses of her mind and she felt very uncomfortable so she looked away.

The door to the office opened and a police officer called to Edward, he looked around and nodded at the man before they disappeared and Edward turned to looked back at Susan who was leaning back in her chair and typing away at her computer furiously trying to ignore him. Edward was intrigued by her unwillingness to give little away about herself, he guessed she would be around for some time so he'd have the chance to pick away at her mind some more, after all there were little challenges at the moment for him to concentrate on and he found her demeanour, how should he describe it, to his particular taste, standoffish and a mystery to be unraveled.  
"Good afternoon Ms. Lewis." Edward smiled down at her, "I'm sure we'll run into each other again." Edward watched as she looked up at him and smiled a final time, "Any questions? ... Don't be afraid to ask." He said before he turned on his heel and left the office.

Susan felt confused, that had been the strangest, shortest conversation in her life, the man was bewildering but she didn't want to dwell on it, she had bigger things to deal with right now and as sure as she was they would meet and speak again she was sure she had to get her life sorted so she found the lettings site she'd previously been on and started searching once again for an apartment nearby, not heeding a single one of Edwards words.


	4. A Light in The Darkness

'I am the first you ever saw, what greets you every morning and what goes out in the end.'

* * *

Friday was finally here, what to most office workers would signal a sigh of relief and happiness to Susan signalled desperation and panic, Susan still hadn't found anywhere to stay and in the corner of her office sat her suitcase tucked away out of sight, she'd managed to come in quite early and pass it off to a few of the officers she'd befriended that she was going away for the weekend to visit some friends and her lies had easily convinced the dull lot. Sometimes Susan wondered how some of these people had managed to pass the entry requirements to go on the force and then she reminded herself times were hard and the GCPD wasn't the most attractive of places to be working right now.

By now Susan had come to the end of her second week in the GCPD and managed to update more than half of the system in the GCPD but it was a slow process with what she'd been given to work with and with constant interruptions when officers had to access the station she would be working on. Susan had spent more time making cups of coffee than she had sat implementing the systems but at least she was getting paid for doing so.

There had been an awful shock to the place and to herself at the start of her first week in the GCPD, a series of crimes had happened all within a day, first a painting had been robbed from the Gotham art gallery after a fake bomb had gone off, then there had been another bomb planted in Gotham central and finally to end the day, that same evening one of the GCPD's own, officer Pinkney, had been bludgeoned to death and Gordon had been found at the scene of the crime by Barnes. The whole of the GCPD was an entire mess over the situation and couldn't hold themselves together without their golden boy to head the investigations. Susan's, thought shocked at the news, wondered what the city would do to her if a normal guy like Jim could go off the rails so easily.

As for Edward, he'd been around and made himself known to Susan, every now and then when his schedule allowed he'd enter the dusty filing office of his ex partner and feign interest in a hot beverage so that he might speak to Susan and delve a little deeper into her mind, trying a little more everyday to intrude more but as of yet he'd been unsuccessful at luring out anything, the woman was a firmly closed book but he felt she might be warming to his 'socially inept' exterior that he was getting good at putting on in front of everyone.

It was midday lunchtime and Susan was sat on the wall across from the department eating a sandwich with her face buried in the 'to let' section of the folds. Right now she would settle for anything so she made a few calls which were unfruitful, there had to be something, anything, she was desperate.

"Fuck." Susan said snapping her mobile shut after the last call and squeezing it tightly in her hand so she heard the tiniest of snapping sounds; another place taken, it seemed impossible, every place she'd called had either been snapped up or the deposit increased, the odds were just stacked against her.

"Still looking for a place?" A voice said and she looked up to see Edward stood a few feet away with that familiar grin she'd come to know. Their conversations were short but not entirely a horrible experience, Susan had noted that Edward had learned the social queue of when she no longer wanted to talk and he kept his questioning and topics fairly polite but from time to time a little intrusive, she'd decided that the man was just a curious creature with no friends, very much like herself. As much as Susan wouldn't admit it or knew she was starting to enjoy his company, odd as it was, he wasn't another meat head in the department trying to ask her out for dinner.

"Seems like I'm not very lucky." Susan said closing the paper and placing it down ready to engage in the short Edward Susan moment of the day.

"I somehow doubt luck has something to do with things." Edward smiled at Susan.

What an odd thing to say she thought and shrugged her shoulders, "Well luck, fate, coincidence, whatever. I'm just going to have to fork out on a hotel a little while more. I don't think this can last much longer..."

Edward just smiled at Susan's persistence and fake positivity, he knew that she wouldn't find anywhere anytime soon or at all for that matter, why? Edward had sabotaged her every attempt since day one the previous week, whether it had just been a little game a first to keep himself occupied it had now turned into a full blown plan that would benefit himself.

"Listen," Edward said, "If you're interested at all, there's an apartment going in my building. The place is nothing special but it's cheap and an inexpensive tube ride away. I would have told you sooner but I have a feeling you'd have called me something untoward." Edward stood and watched Susan's face change ever so slightly, the power to produce hope whenever he thought the time was appropriate was a compellingly nice feeling. Edward liked to hold all the power and her reaction was more than satisfying.

Susan wasn't sure how to respond, she'd conversed with Edward nearly every day since she'd started at the GCPD and he'd been fully aware that she'd been struggling to find a place to stay, so how long had he been holding onto this knowledge?

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" She quizzed him suspiciously.

"Well," Edward grinned picking up on the tone of her voice and her protective body language, "It so happens that I was speaking to my landlady today about a problem in my apartment and she asked if I wanted to switch, seems one of the residents have left the city, they were threatening to do it for sometime. Looks like they finally made their decision."

"Oh," Susan said relaxing, she was too quick to jump to conclusions, working in the GCPD had turned her into an anxious nervous wreck with so many psychopaths hanging around the building all day, "Thank you Edward... I'm pretty desperate now..." Susan let herself open up for a moment, someone was genuinely trying to be helpful and nice instead of staring down her blouse.

"I know," Edward said quietly his smirk spreading, "I'm guessing you're in need of the place by tonight seen as though your things are in the office." Edward said starting to walk off slowly back over to the department.

"Yes." Susan said her cheeks flushing from embarrassment, how could she have thought it would evade Edward's quick mind. Susan collected the remainders of her lunch and quickly followed Edward to find out more, plus it was coming up to the end of her break.

"Right," Edward said in a cheery tone once they reached the doors of the GCPD and he held it open for her, "I'll meet you in the lobby at 6pm. We can go home together." Edward stated looking down at the anxious expression and wavering smile on the woman's face. Things were coming together quite nicely, then again they couldn't have gone any differently, Edwards plans had been successful once again, there'd never been any doubt in his mind that Susan wouldn't end up in the same building with him.

Things would be oh so easy now.


	5. The Apartment

'You cannot see me, hear me, or touch me. I lie behind the stars and alter what is real, I am what you really fear. Close your eyes and I come near.'

* * *

It was a little after 6pm, Susan had been waiting for Edward outside rather than inside as not to attract any unneeded attention from a few of the officers she'd befriended in the department, the last thing she wanted was to have any rumours flying about whilst she was still working at the GCPD that would make her look incompetent and jeopardise her future with Wayne Enterprises all for the sake of one man and his persistence to make her friendship.

Susan wrapped her thin coat around her body and rubbed her arms with her hands, winter was in full swing by now and snowflakes were starting to fall through the night air. Susan had not heeded Edwards words from their initial conversation, the first day she'd arrived, about a change in wardrobe, mainly because she hadn't been her paid her wages yet and now had to make do with the warmest things she had in her suitcase which had ended up in several layers piled on one another. Still, Susan felt the cold more than anyone having spent a good part of her life on the equator, this icy weather was horrific.

"Good evening Ms. Lewis." Edward said exiting the department in his brown overcoat and carrying his slim briefcase, "I hope your afternoon was pleasant." He said offering polite conversation and noting her shivering frame and paleness, she didn't look well at all, something would have to be done about that.

"As pleasant as work can be." Susan said though shivers and returned a smile, her office had been freezing even with the room padded full of files, apparently the department didn't see fit to have the heating on in areas other than the main set of offices so she'd spent the latter part of the day clutching warm mugs and snivelling into a tissue.

"Well, no point hanging around in the cold." Edward said picking up her suitcase, "Shall we go home?" He then signalled the direction and Susan though not pleased at his choice of words for the second time that day, couldn't be any happier to be setting off somewhere warm.

The apartment building was about six tube stops away from the police department which seemed as convenient as it could be given the circumstances and was right on top of the station which was an added bonus. The outside of the apartments was as she'd expected, run down, dilapidated and in a questionable part of town but that didn't really make much of a difference now, the place was a temporary measure until she could get out of the city.

Edward introduced her to the landlady, a squat half deaf Asian woman that spoke little English and tried to put on a friendly attitude but Susan could tell that she was only interested in the money so Susan paid her deposit and first month upfront quickly with the money Wayne Enterprises had given to help her find suitable accommodation, she was handed the key, wavered the direction of her place and presented with a slammed door in her face but it didn't phase Susan at all, she just wanted to go to sleep now and sort things out in the morning and over the weekend.

"Lovely woman." Edward said in a sarcastic tone very matter of fact, "You're place is up here."

Susan stepped in the creaking dirty old metal lift with her suitcase and waited in silence alongside Edward until the rickety thing reached the fourth floor. The door slid open with a couple of jerks and they stepped out onto a dimly lit hallways where a lightbulb was flickering intermittently along the way. Susan felt more depressed with every step she took, she would give anything to be back in Kuala Lumpur right now, that dry heat seemed like a beautiful dream right now when once she'd hated it.  
"And here we are." Edward said stopping besides a brown door, then he held up a finger, "What can be either big or small, anywhere in the world - near or far. Can stay the same or change over time, and is different for everyone but we all have at least one?" Edward lowered his hand and waited patiently for Susan to answer him.  
Susan was cold and tired, he'd been occasionally throwing these riddles to her over the course of the week, the other officers had told her it was nothing new and that he built up a weird reputation in the GCPD for it, most of them knew him only as the riddle man; as much as his riddles were amusing from time to time she really wasn't in the mood for it right now, her body was just about to give up on her.

"Oh Edward, I don't really know right now. Can I just go in and rest, it's been a long week." She said in an exhausted fashion but she looked up and Edward's expression seemed strained, she was the only person in the department that indulged in his little obsession and she sighed trying to think. Her father had done riddles with her when she was younger to help train her mind to think out of the box and she'd heard this one long ago but the answer was so vague in her memory now she really had to strain to remember, "A home?" Susan said and watched as Edwards strained expression faded and he relaxed.

"Correct." Edward jiggled her key in the lock and pushed the door open to reveal the darkened apartment. "Have a pleasant sleep Ms. Lewis." He said setting her suitcase down, "If you need anything I'm just along the hallway in the next apartment to yourself." Edward gave a final smile and left her stood in the doorway of her new apartment whilst he entered his own and closed the door locking it firmly and leaving her behind, alone.

Susan felt a bit shocked at Edward's sudden departure, she didn't really know why, maybe she was just a little anxious about what she would find in the pitch black apartment. The switch was a pull cord she saw dangling just on the inside and when she turned it on her whole body eased, the apartment was clean, furnished adequately and had a large set of french style windows which had the blinds pulled up to show the Gotham cityscape, it was quite beautiful in the early evening. Susan closed the door locking it securely and started to search the apartment to see how everything was laid out, in the middle of the studio was the living area with an ample three seater couch, coffee table and TV setup, to the left was the kitchenette which led onto the bathroom and to the right there was a double divan bed, she thanked whoever was watching over her that the place wasn't what she'd expected judging it off the front of the building.

The unpacking, all ten minutes of it, could wait until tomorrow, Susan made her way over to the TV, picked up the remote and wandered over to the bed still wearing several layers and not removing her coat, she turned the TV on and bundled herself up on top of the stripped mattress and within a matter of minutes she was fast asleep, mentally exhausted and physically drained.


	6. Favours

'I am gentle enough to soothe your skin, light enough to fly in the sky, strong enough to crack rocks.'

* * *

The next morning bright sunlight coming in through the windows eased Susan awake groggily, she shuddered in the crisp morning air and felt her skin tingle with numbness in her feet and fingers, she'd intended to find the heating last night after a short rest on the bed but her short rest had turned into a full blown sleep right through to the early hours of the day. Stiffly she sat up and stretched, her limbs and back were twisted and sore from sleeping in a tightly balled up position all night, it was nothing a warm cup of coffee and a bath would sort out, however this meant a trip to the local shop as she had no essentials in the apartment as of yet.

Susan didn't bother dressing any differently, there was no point yet if she was going to be getting a bath; Susan checked the local area on her phone for a convenience store, there was one just around the corner so she grabbed her keys, pulled on her shoes, picked up her purse and left the apartment in search on amenities. When she reached the so called shop the place looked like it had been boarded up and abandoned for some time, the streets were still quite deserted apart from the weekend workers hurrying over to the tube station, Susan huffed and saw her breath in the icy morning before rubbing her eyes and returning back to her apartment, she'd have to make a trip out to the city this weekend and use what she little she had left of her expenses allowance to stock up.

The bathroom was clean but very out of date, like it had been fitted back in the fourties, the suite was a dark green in colour and made the room look smaller than it actually was. Susan twisted the tap to the hot water and she heard a knocking noise before water started to come out, a rich brown, Susan recoiled away and waited for the water to run clear but as it did the water turned from a spurting gush into a slow trickle, she turned it off and tried the sink which did exactly the same but then slowed to nothing. Today was going to be a pain, she could already tell.

Susan knocked for a third time, this time as loud as possible, on the landlady's bottom floor flat which was completely silent inside but still there was no answer. Susan looked around the hallway for any sort of sign on the wall that would indicate an emergency contact number but the walls were bare apart from the strips of wallpaper peeling off here and there. Susan was starting to get frustrated and a little emotional, she'd not wanted to come back to Gotham, she's been so completely happy where she was and now she'd been dragged back to this slum to live out the remainder of her days, she wondered why she was being punished.

Back upstairs Susan stood outside her apartment door looking over the one on her left, as much as she didn't want to she had no other options, Edward must have some sort of contact for the landlady, so she walked over flattening back windswept strands of her hair and hesitated before knocking, why did she feel so anxious about this? Perhaps it was because she's only really had to interact with Edward in a working environment and it was usually he that initiated conversation first, she'd never had to rely on him in the GCPD for anything, how the tables had turned. Susan knocked on the door and stood back waiting for his familiar face to appear in the doorway but just like downstairs there was no answer. Of course Susan smiled wearily, everyone has a social life on the weekend including Edward of all people.

Edward was stood halfway out of the lift watching Susan in her failed attempt to contact him, he smiled at the thought that it had been less than twenty four hours and she was already in need of his assistance, though he hadn't expected any less. Edward had sabotaged the water supply the previous morning, all it would take would be a quick tweak of a wrench on one vital spot of the plumbing and the water would flow freely again, as for the landlady downstairs, he'd slipped some Valium into her morning brew earlier when he'd gone down to the local shop a couple of blocks away which he purposefully removed from the local GPD so that it didn't appear on internet searches. Edward was always two steps ahead of everything.

"Hi Edward," Susan said tiredly as she caught him walking towards her down the hallway, "Sorry to catch you so early but I need your help."

Edward looked over Susan's tired and dishevelled appearance, she clearly hadn't slept well, she was still wearing her clothes from the previous day and dark circles were starting to appear under her blue eyes, Edward felt a twinge of something as he watched her try to smile at him, yes there it was again as she patted down her usually kept hair and leaned on the wall waiting for him to draw nearer, it was definitely a pang of guilt but quickly he dismissed it.

"Ms. Lewis." Edward said approaching the woman, "Is everything alright?" He knew the answer already but he had to play the game.

"Call me Susan Edward." Susan said rubbing her eyes, "Not really, there's problems in the apartment and I can't get in touch with the landlady. Do you have a number for her?"

"Afraid I can't help you there," Edward lied, "The woman goes out on the weekend to visit family and as technophobic as she is, no mobile phone."

Susan was at a loss, she felt like she was going to burst into tears at any moment but managed to hold herself together a little while longer, "Okay no problem, thanks anyway Edward." Susan said crossing her arms and heading back to her apartment.

"Susan," Edward called after her and he watched as she slowly turned back towards him, "What's your problem? All these apartments are pretty much the same, I might be able to help you out." He watched as Susan's face changed again from hopelessness to something brighter, the power once again to have control over the simplest of things.


	7. Something More

'I beam, I shine, I sparkle white. I'll brighten the day with a single light. I'll charm and enchant all. I'll bring the best in you all.'

* * *

Susan watched carefully as Edward pulled away the bath panel and started to have a look at all the pipes underneath snaking in and out of the floorboards, she assumed he knew what he was doing as she saw him testing each of connectors with his wrench, Susan had never been very good at DIY, she'd never had to be, everything had either always worked or been fixed by the maintenance man at her old place.

"Ah," Edward said after a few moments, "Here's the problem." He angled himself on his side so that he was blocking Susan's view of what he was doing and turned the stop tap on he'd turned off the previous day and water immediately starting to flow into the bath and the sink.

Susan felt relieved as she watched the water run through steadily and become clear, at least that was something, she could go and get a bath and head out shopping now. "Thank you," Susan said as Edward got to his feet, "I would offer you a drink but I'm afraid I don't have anything yet." Susan sat on the edge of the bath after he'd replaced the panel and plugged the drain so that the bath started to fill up.

"Don't worry. How about you take your bath and come over to my place after, I'll make you something instead." Edward grinned crossing his arms and looking down at the brunette sat on the side of the bath swishing the water round with her hand. No bubble bath to add, she'd be de-robed and in it within the next fifteen minutes, Edward was starting to wish he could be there to witness that.

"I should be the one treating you for helping me out." Susan smiled gratefully as she pulled her hair from its tie setting it free.

"There's always next time." Edward said watching her remove her coat as she walked him to the door, he could feel his fitted pants tightening, it had been sometime since he'd last felt the warm body of another pressed up against his, he began to realise that other than the delicious idea of toying with her mind he now wanted Susan altogether but he could wait, he could already see her change in attitude and her warming up to him. It wouldn't be long, and the chase was always much more satisfying the longer it lasted.

"I won't be long." Susan gave him one last smile before shutting the door and then headed for the bathroom tugging her clothes off as she went. 'Thank god for Edward.' Susan thought to herself as she stood in the bath and lowered herself down, once she was fully submerged up to her neck she let out a huge groan of enjoyment which echoed around the tiled bathroom.

Edward was now in his own apartment leaning against the wall in his bathroom with his eyes closed as he listened through the paper thin wall and heard her faint groans every now and then, 'Fuck.' Edward whispered under his breath as he clenched the edge of the sink with his a spare hand. Edward chided himself and left the bathroom to get as far from the wall as possible, things like this were off putting, he wanted to know her mind first more than anything, to break down those walls and see what it was she was hiding behind them; but those sweet noises coming from next door were so tempting and she was completely naive to his thoughts next door.  
When Susan had finished her bath she found a new set of clothes and doubled up on her socks before pulling on her coat and heading round to the next apartment. Just a quick drink and then she would head out to find a grocery store, even if that meant she would have to travel on the tube a little further.

Susan knocked on Edward's door wondering in what sort of state she would find it once she entered, neat? Messy? Who knew, all that mattered right now was the offer of that warm drink so desperately needed, she rubbed her cold hands together and waited until the door opened and Edward appeared welcoming her in with a wave of his arm.

"Welcome to casa de Nygma," Edward said jokingly, "Feel free to sit down if you want."

Susan looked around the apartment, exactly the same size as her own but the layout was reversed here, the mirror image of her own sparse abode. The place was neat, clean and minimalistic, she'd thought as much, Edward apart from being a forensic scientist was also very precise and particular in his work she'd noticed, so why shouldn't his home be any different? Susan sat down at the table where he'd pulled out a chair for her and watched as he boiled the kettle and started to make tea in a quick and orderly way, she didn't know why but she couldn't stop watching him, he turned and smiled making sure she was alright she assumed and she smiled back then looked down at her hands clasped together on the table surface. Susan was finding it hard to keep eyes met with his more and more recently, she hated to admit that she was warming to the odd man.

"Here you go." Edward said sitting opposite Susan and sliding over a glass cup in her direction, "I'm sorry if you don't like it, it's all I drink I'm afraid. I don't have many visitors these days."

Susan looked at the see through cup at the orange looking liquid inside, she recognised it immediately as herbal tea, most probably green tea but that didn't bother her, there was no herbal tea at the GCPD, just cheap instant coffee, this was much more enjoyable.

"Actually I prefer green tea, I only drink coffee because it's all the department ever seems to have." Susan said sipping the tea and feeling the warmth flow down her throat and into her body, it felt wonderful and the tea was actually quite delicious. "Mmmm, that's wonderful." She smiled opening her eyes and looking at Edward who was staring directly at her with a smug smile and had no intention of looking away anytime soon. Susan broke his gaze and felt her cheeks flush, maybe she could pass it off as something to do with the tea. No, it was as obvious as daylight now, Susan knew there was something more to that flush in her cheeks and the epiphany hit her like a bus.


	8. Dinner Date

'I can be stolen or given away and you will live, yet you cannot live without me.'

* * *

And there it was.

Edward noticed it immediately, the look in her eyes, the quick look back down away from his penetrating stare, her thumbs rolling over the edge of the cup anxiously and her lip slightly indented, not obvious to the regular person, where she was biting it inside. Her body was tensed, her breathing heightened, though this may have been down to the cold, and her excessive blinking coupled with silence. Right now Susan's body would be exuding pheromones in little puffs from her skin and and her heart would be thumping more beats to the minute, palpitating in her slightly aroused state. Weren't bodies a marvellous thing, Edward could almost smell the newly realised want she had begun to feel and all it took was timing, a 'knight in shining armour' approach and a heavy gaze. Susan was as he expected, a submissive.

"I'm glad you're enjoying it." Edward smiled clasping his own cup and continuing to let his gaze linger on her face, she wouldn't pick up on the double entendre he had used purposefully but he was surprised he saw her quickly glance up with a spark of realisation in her eyes, she had, what a good girl and clever too, even more exciting. "So what are you planning for the rest of your day?"

"Oh," Susan said after swallowing her mouthful quickly and feeling the hard lump painfully go down her throat, "Shopping mainly, essentials and housewares. Which tube stop is the closest, I could do with it being near, I've got quite a lot to get." Susan thought that she'd probably need to make a few trips back and forth to fully kit out the apartment but today food and bedding was the priority.

"Well there's a shopping mall you'll get everything in one go in the next district but that's quite far away, right in the centre of Gotham, here in the outskirts we've got grocery stores and that's your lot." Edward said breaking his gaze after she had not looked at him for several minutes now, the moment of rapture had now eluded Susan he noted, they were back to polite conversation, how he enjoyed then to and for of this game.

"The shop nearby is derelict, looks like it has been for sometime...didn't you say you went out earlier to one?" Susan asked casually looking over but Edward was no longer staring, her body relaxed again and she stopped squeezing her thighs together.

"Dont tell me you went to the one two blocks down?" Edward said giving her a sideways look and a sly smile as he drank more of his tea.

"That's what it gave me here." Susan said tapping the top of her phone with her index finger.

"Hmph. Technology for you." Edward said, "You never know what will go wrong, imperfect machines made by imperfect machines. Now, the human body, that's something you can rely on knowing everything about for sure." Edward raised an eyebrow and finished his tea, he saw Susan look up and knew he'd sparked her interest. "For example," Edward placed his cup on the saucer and pressed his palms together entwining his fingers, "Did you know, loneliness is actually physically painful. Just as you have a drive to avoid physical pain, you have a similarly powerful drive to connect with others and seek companionship - in order to avoid the pain of loneliness." Edward waited for Susan's response to the information he'd just given her, there was, as always, two sides to it but he wondered if she'd catch this one though it was rather obvious.

Susan felt watched again, was she imagining things or was that some sort of subconscious suggestion he'd just thrown her way, was he trying to tell her in his bizarre way that she didn't have to be lonely or was he trying to suggest that he thought she might be hurting because she'd had to come back to Gotham and she had no one. No, he was just being brain box Edward, showing off his vast intelligence hoping someone would notice him for once, but she did question herself as her instincts were screaming otherwise.

"Well," Susan smiled draining the last of her tea and placing it down also, "It's also know that crying alleviates stress and allows the body to decrease feelings of anger and sadness. Loneliness shouldn't be so painful after that I guess." She shrugged and pushed her chair back standing up and watching one of Edward's eyebrows twitch and his eyes narrow, "You're not the only one that studied biology Edward." Susan smiled and buttoned her coat, "Thanks for the DIY and tea, see you at work Monday." She gave him a quick flash of a half hearted smile watching his almost exasperated look and turned to go smiling smugly to herself, Susan could play little games as well, though they were only womanly wiles and nothing compared to his superior intellect she'd graduated from university as well, she could throw him a bone every now and then to keep him on his toes, wondering. The sad thing was she was actually letting Edward see the real Susan underneath, the one that was actually lonely and would probably cry herself to sleep that night in her apartment.

Edward watched as Susan crossed his apartment to the door leaving him sat there a little confused, this wasn't like him, it was as if his new found courage and sureness had just disappeared with her words, had she just admitted that she was actually lonely and she was hurting so badly underneath? He couldn't stand the thought of her in the flat alone just like he had been for so many years, no one understanding him or being there when he needed someone, but Edward pulled himself back together quickly and got to his feet.

"Essentials," Edward called after her making her stop in her tracks, "Just get yourself essentials for the weekend, you can eat, eat food, here, tonight, tonight with me..." He watched as Susan gave him a strange look and he swallowed back a hard lump forming in his throat, "If it might please you..." Edward had lost his train of thought, he was back to dithering awkward Edward, the Edward he thought has disappeared and let the real Edward take over, "Susan I'm asking if you'll have dinner with me t-tonight." He stammered for the first time he'd done so in months, he'd also noticed the increase in his heart rate and the perspiration that could hardly be because of the temperature, Edward was not pleased.

Susan smiled as she watched the man scrambling for words and she knew he was wringing his fingers together behind his back as he held them out of sight, Susan realised the full extent of her previous epiphany and her mind raced with so many thoughts, this was the last situation she would have been expecting and especially with a man like Edward, shunned and ridiculed by the entire department. What was she doing?

"Thank you, tonight then." Susan said brushing her hair out of her face.

"Call round at 7pm, I'll have something ready for you." Edward said placing his hands on the back of his chair as he stepped round and watched her smile slightly, catch his eye for a moment and then disappear behind the closed door back to her own apartment.

"Oh. Dear." Edward said tapping his fingers on the back of the chair. He took off his glasses and rubbed his head, it was aching and he felt angry and a little sick, he went over to the mirror and looked at his reflection which just stared back at him. Edward smiled and laughed to himself, that was a good one, he almost though that old Edward had come back but no, the reflection in the glass didn't speak to him just mirrored his joyful expression, old Edward was long dead.

Edward straightened himself up fixing his hair and placing his glasses back on his face, "Better prepare for tonight's endeavours." Edward glanced a final time in the mirror with his smug impression, "And I'm not going to kill this one this time." He winked at himself.


	9. Sweet Anticipation

'I will disappear every time you say my name.'

* * *

Gotham city had been a hive of activity in the early afternoon, nothing out of the ordinary, Susan had experienced the city in full force many years ago before she'd been sent away by Wayne Enterprises to work in Kuala Lumpur. The city had changed for the worse, Susan who'd once been confident to walk the busy streets of the city was now intimidated by the denizens littering the pavement, her afternoon of shopping had been dreadful, at every corner she thought that she might be mugged or stabbed so once she'd finished her shopping she grabbed the nearest cab back home not even caring that it would cost her a small fortune.

Back in the apartment Susan had managed to get the place into some sort of likeable living condition, she'd now managed to empty her suitcase and around the apartment were little mementos and trinkets from her previous life, photos and sentiments that made her wish she were back there amongst friends and familiar surroundings, settling back into Gotham would not be an easy feat however she was adaptable she could do this for now, she just kept reminding herself it was temporary.

Susan sat balanced on the arm of the couch watching the news, Jim Gordon was still on the run, she thought about the last time she'd seen him in the GCPD, though they hadn't yet had chance to speak he seemed fine, stable, dedicated to his job and sane but it didn't matter how someone appeared on the outside, eventually the Gotham rot would set in and eat away at someones soul underneath, she just had expected Jim to be the last person to succumb to such darkness.

The clock on the wall read six fifteen pm, she had plenty of time to get ready and head over to Edward's apartment, it was hardly like she would have to catch a cab to get there, a few seconds out of her front door and she would be there, convenient but still a little unsettling. Susan had been thinking about the man intermittently all day, the strange feeling of attraction to him ebbing to and fro as she wrestled with her inner thoughts. Working relationships were not good, she had experience of them before and they had ended in an unhappy situation, however Susan reminded herself that the work at the GCPD was not a permanent fixture, she would be assigned somewhere else soon after and not have to see him during the week. Just live next to him.

Edward's brown eyes came back into her mind, those eyes that could look right through her, unsettling and exciting at the same time. The man was in all essences a social outcast, in school and college you would stereotype him into the category of a geek or nerd, a loner, weird and odd, not someone that had many friends because they were interested in the unusual. Edward lived up to these things, his morbid fascination with death, the constant bombardment of questions and riddles he spread around the GCPD, his reputation preceded him, the officers had warned her about him and Susan had cared at first. Now Susan felt more comfortable around Edward than the meat heads, Edward was harmless and predicable, they were not so much, violent and chauvinistic.

Susan changed into something nice but relaxed, something that would be appropriate for a friendly meal, almost a welcoming to Gotham between one outcast and another. This would be a nice thing, she was going to be treated to some food and intelligent conversation, she prayed it wouldnt be awkward, Edward could have his moments but he seemed to loose that persona around her after a while of them talking, she would just have to get past the initial formalities. Susan pepped herself looking in the mirror before she set off, 'Friendly meal, friendship. Don't initiate anything Susan, its not fair on either of you if you're set on leaving.' she thought to herself and nodded, she was right, Edward would be the one who would come off worse in this.

Next door the mood was quite different, Edward was making the final finishing touches to his apartment, candles had been lit and dotted around the sides of the room and on the dining table, the soft sound of music was emanating from a record player in the bedroom and the delicious aroma of Edward's fine cooking was emanating from the stove. Outside the sign of the name of the building was flooding in through the windows filling the apartment with a green glow from its light and Edward was stood looking out across the cityscape holding a cup of green tea and smiling smugly to himself as his mind churned and ticked over the outcomes of tonight's dinner date.

There was a knock on the door and Edward turned and moved towards it slowly savouring each sordid thought in his mind before he got there. Edward brushed his jumper down flat and looked in the mirror checking his hair, "Let the fun commence." Edward smiled to himself as he unlocked the door and opened it to see Susan stood there before him.

Edward felt a pang in his chest as he caught sight of her properly in the dimness of the hallway, she'd made an effort, her chestnut hair was curdled around her heart shaped face with her fringe sat on top of her forehead above her eyebrows drawing all attention to her blue anxious eyes looking into him. Edward saw the hint of a smile in the corner of her mouth, an affectionate smile that she was trying to mask and not doing a very good job of. Clad in a simple flowing white shirt with the sleeves pinned at the elbows and a long dark blue skirt she looked fresh and clean, a hint of jasmine coming from her neck and wrists; Edward knew Susan had tried to tone down her appearence as not to give Edward a false impression but the little amount of makeup and perfume she hadn't been able to resist suggested that she still wanted him to find her attractive and Edward admitted it had worked.

"G-Good evening Susan, wont you come in?" Edward said stumbling with his words for the second time recently and then standing aside letting her walk by him, the smell of soft midnight Jasmine drifting into the air so that he could smell it so faintly but so beautifully chosen, a smell befitting of her soft sweet side she tried to hide away. Edward clenched his fist, why was he falling apart and becoming pushover Edward again, he couldn't let that side come back ever again.

Susan felt her cheeks redden when she caught sight of the apartment, its candles flickering and music playing in the dim light, this wasn't just a friendly dinner to Edward, this was definitely something more and now she didn't know what to do, she couldn't leave and she didn't want to but everything around her pointed to one eventuality. "Smells good." Susan said turning to look for Edward but she didn't have to look far, he was stood about two feet from her looking down with his deep brown curious eyes.

"Won't be long now." Edward said beholding the woman's tentative expression, he could see the anticipation mounting in her, her mind wondering what he was going to do and why he was so close, he smiled and reached out a hand slowly in front of her, "Wine?" he offered raising the glass into her line of sight.


	10. Split Decisions

'I am just two and two. I am hot. I am cold. I am the parent of numbers that cannot be told. I am a gift beyond measure, a matter of course. I am given with pleasure when taken by force.'

* * *

Susan took the wine glass from Edward, he fingers slipping over his whilst she did, there was no other way she could have taken it without touching him, was it his intention for this she wasn't sure but his hand was smooth against hers, the sign of a career away from the brutality that matched his colleagues at work, the smooth skin of a scholar not a rough and ready officer. Susan looked up to Edward as she held the glass and the silence between them lasted a few moments before she gave a quick smile of gratitude and he walked off leaving her stood there wondering what the night would hold for them.

"So how was your venture out into Gotham?" Edward asked politely as he watched Susan in the reflection of the window as he feigned preparation of dinner, of course the food was just waiting to be served now but Susan didnt have to know that; she was looking around the apartment in hope of learning more about the riddle man of Gotham GCPD but all these things here were remnants of a former Edward that no longer existed, she wouldnt find much information on his darker self, he'd hidden that away carefully from view in case of visitors.

"An eye opener to say the least." Susan said walking over a wall and noting Edward's certificates and diploma's from different instituations including his degree from Gotham City University, Susan smiled and let out a small laugh which made Edward turn to look at her properly with an intrigued impression, "You graduated the same year as me." Susan said inspecting the degree further, the highest distinction available and a masters hung next to it, "I'm surprised we never ran into each other before."

"Gotham CU was a big place." Edward said forgetting his tasks in the kitchen and grabbing a glass of wine for himself and joining her, "I'm the sort of person that can be easily missed. I wouldn't find it surprising, I wasn't the sociable type."

"Still," Susan said glancing at the tall man next to her, "Computer sciences and forensics were in the same building." She watched as he closed his eyes and chuckled to himself.

"I am pronounced as one letter, written with three. I come in blue, black, brown, or grey. Reverse me and I read the same either way." Edward said slowly and cocked his head watching the woman look up at him with a grin.

"Another riddle Edward?" Susan said sipping some wine, surprisingly it was delicious and so crisp and fresh, he had good taste, either that or he'd done some research, "Hmmm, I've heard this one before, the answer is eye."

"Yes," Edward said straightening up, "Perhaps you weren't looking for me back then." Edward held up his glass and Susan followed chinking it against it, "To finally opening your eyes." They both drank, Edward taking the lead to drink more deeply than a toast usually warranted and Susan followed his lead in doing so, "Top up?" Edward asked heading for the bottle on the table.

"You have so many achievemants." Susan complimented him waiting for his to return with the bottle, "Awards and published articles, its impressive for someone to have done so much at an early age, surely you're wasted in the GCPD?" Susan thought she might be gushing too much but she figured that Edward didnt get much appreciation for his efforts and she was genuinely impressed by his incredible mind, Susan had had to push for a distinction at Gotham CU and then on the good graces of her father gained a secure job with Wayne Enterprises.

"I had plenty of offers when I graduated, actually I was approached by your company by a gentleman for one of the divisions but I wanted to be somewhere that would make a difference, sometimes I wonder what the GCPD would do without me." Edward said filling her glass and gesturing to the table where they both sat facing each other divided by soft candlelight and a small bunch of fresh flowers sat in an upcycled can.

"Things seem to be such a mess here." Susan sighed running her finger around the top of her glass, "I wonder how there can be so much crime in one city, its frightening, the thought that there could be a psychopath around every corner."

Edward's smiled faltered for a moment and his anxiety got the better of him, there was no way she could know about what he'd done, she'd been back in the city just under two weeks, she hadn't made any other acquaintances apart from himself, he's seen to that but could there have been something he'd left behind in the filing annex, some small clue to his deeds. No it was impossible, her words were purely coincidental, he had nothing to worry about. Edward's smile returned.

"It's not a nice thought is it? Do you find it hard to sleep at night?" Edward asked watching the woman in front of him pick up her glass and press her lips against the glass, lips untainted without lipstick, lips that unknowingly invited him to press his against hers and take her in his arms.

"I did, sometimes." Susan admitted her eyes flickering onto his face and finding his gaze heavy on her, the candlelight reflected in his glasses so this his eyes were obscured every now and then but whenever they came into view she couldn't tare hers away from his, Edward was not what he seemed, underneath his inept exterior she saw confidence and surety that made her feel strange, protected and frightened at the same time, it would be hard to keep herself away from him. "But now you're only a door away, I feel better knowing that you're close." she watched him smile and raise from his seat placing his hands in his pockets.

"I sure am." Edward said and left her to dwell on her thoughts as he went to prepare the first course.

The evening played out casually and easily after that, Edward wanted to know everything there was about Susan and she willingly obliged regaling stories from her previous job and as little about her life as she wanted to give away. Gotham CU and the GCPD would be the main topics that they kept returning to and Edward found the night to be taking an expected turn as he enjoyed her more than he'd thought he would have. Susan was witty, modest and undeniably intelligent, she could keep up with Edward and understand everything he was saying unlike others that would knit their eyebrows together and narrow their eyes at his words before dismissing him; she was like a breath of fresh air and their dinner that evening had been more enjoyable than all the evenings he'd had with Ms. Kringle put together.

"Thank you Edward," Susan said wiping her eyes after laughing at Edward's dry witty analysis of the members of the GCPD she'd met whilst working there, "I've had a lot of fun tonight."

They were both sat on the couch together and had come to the end of the second bottle of wine, Susan looked at the cuckoo clock on the wall, it was a little before twelve, she couldnt believe where the time had gone, this was the first time she'd looked at the clock to check the time, a sign that she really had enjoyed the evening, "It's late, I'm going to have to go." she said placing her empty glass on the table in front and smoothing out her skirt and shuffling round to face him. Edward was leant back against the couch a grin still on his flushed face with his arm leant on the arm of the couch, glass still in hand. Whether it was the wine or just Edward, he looked more attractive to her than before, so relaxed and happy, she wanted to kiss him.

"Edward," Susan said quietly, her head was slightly hazy from the expensive wine he'd procured, she sat waiting for him to get the hint that she wanted him to make a move but he just sat quietly watching her, she placed her hand on his knee, "Thank you, I really mean it..."

Edward felt Susan's hand rest gently on his knee as she looked into his eyes trying to pass a hidden message to him that he already knew, the problem was he couldn't move, something wasn't letting him move forward, it was fear. Over the course of the night, Susan's personality had chipped away at the darkness in him and somehow broken the walls that kept bumbling Ed locked safely away inside, he'd not felt so fragile since before he's killed officer Dougherty.

 _'What's going on Ed? Why am I back out here?'_ his dark pysche shouted from the mirror on the wall, _'What are you doing? She's just going to leave you like Kristen would have if we hadn't fixed that. Let me back, now. We need to pull ourselves together.'_ Edward looked away from the mirror to Susan who was giving him a concerned expression.

"Edward are you alright?" Susan asked as she noted his stricken expression.

"I'm fine." Edward said reassuringly but glancing back over to the mirror where his psyche no longer appeared, then he heard a hiss in his ear, _'We're going to have a repeat of last time if you're not careful, I thought we were over this, come on Ed, you need me, I got her here in the first place, I'm the one she wanted, confident strong Edward, not you.'_ Edward watched as his dark psyche loomed behind the couch staring down at Susan with darkness in its eyes, _'She's so beautiful, you haven't got a chance like this.'_

"Okay..." Susan said trailing off, perhaps she'd been wrong the entire time, perhaps Edward really was just trying to be friendly, all the times she caught his prolonged gaze linger on her had not been because he wanted her but because he hadn't learned that this was an awkward social thing to do. Susan stifled a gasp of shock, she'd been so wrong all this time and now she found herself attracted to a man that didn't even want her. Susan removed her hand from his knee and got to her feet giving him the weakest smile that she could muster, "See you Monday Edward." she said turning and heading for the door as she felt her emotions her the better of her.

 _'Look what you've done now Ed,' Edward's dark psyche said following Susan slowly across the apartment as Edward watched in horror, 'She's even got tears, bravo.'_ he clapped sarcastically.

"Susan wait a second." Edward said scrambling to his feet.

Susan stopped at the door with her hand on the handle and quickly wiped the freshly sprung tears from her eyes as he approached her, she turned around and looking at the man before her, confidence evading him as he stood there fighting for words, "You're great, I mean tonight was wonderful, you were wonderful and tonight was great, that's what I meant." Edward said pressing his palms together in front of him, he didn't know what to do next, he felt so awkward and glanced behind to see the other part of him stood grinning just behind him. _'You need me Ed.'_ Within a split second Edward had pulled himself back together, he was too weak to do this alone.

Susan watched as Edward's face changed, he calmed, his body eased and he opened his eyes looking down at her, that look that she'd come to learn and realise there was no escape, she felt her body tense with anticipation as she felt one of his hands land on top of hers holding the door handle; her heart was pounding and she could feel his hot breath on her neck as he drew in closer his glasses reflecting the green light pouring into the room so that it obscured his brown eyes.

"I had a wonderful time ." Edward grinned twisting his hand so that the door opened and then he stood back watching her stood in the doorway with disappointment in her eyes at his actions, she had clearly been expecting that to lead into a kiss or some sort of advancement but he wanted her to want him more, for her every waking thought to revolve around him, he could smell her want for him from between her clenched thighs but it wasn't enough, he wanted to gain full control and to do that it meant he had to hold off right now even though his thoughts were going over the most sordid things imaginable. "Goodnight Susan."

"Goodnight Edward." Susan said waiting a moment longer hoping he'd move it but he didn't, he merely held her gaze and she could see in those eyes a darkness that would eventually consume her, in mind and in body.


	11. Knock Knock

'I don't live within a house, nor do I live without. Most will use me when they come in, and again when they go out.'

* * *

Susan was lying awake in bed tossing and turning from side to side trying to get comfortable but nothing worked, her mind was as restless as her body, sleep wasn't something that was going to come easily after tonight's events, she couldn't stop thinking about Edward and how she wished the night had ended much differently. Without a wall separating them.

Next door Edward was experiencing the same sort of turmoil though Edward never usually slept much anyway, his mind only required about five hours to revitalise itself, anymore was lazy and a waste. Edward was watching late night news to occupy his mind and distract it from the fact he wanted to go round to Susan's apartment, knock on the door and shut himself in with her until Monday came round to claim them for work.

Edward's full attention was drawn back to the TV from his sordid daydreams all of a sudden with the announcement that Jim Gordon was still on the run having escaped from prison, he raised from his chair his eyes narrowing and sighed. Oh no, this wouldn't do, this wouldn't do at all, something had to be done, but what? Jim couldn't possibly think that Edward had anything to do with this could he? No, that was impossible and defied logic, he would be caught and re-imprisoned before long, he'd do everything in his power to make sure the GCPD didn't bumble this up, if fate was on his side he would be leaving the city and keeping his head low but that wouldn't last forever, he knew Jim, he was persistent.

Still, Edward couldn't relax now that he'd been reminded of the inconvenience, Bullock's words echoing in his mind 'Knowing Jim Gordon he's not gonna rest until he finds the son of a bitch that framed him for murder.' Edward paced the apartment thinking of a plan to put in place to assure his safety and 'innocence' in the matter though this was far from the truth, he'd bludgeoned that officer to death in cool blood with a crowbar and placed evidence and clues that all led undeniably to officer Gordon. Edward would not let himself be discovered for the murder of his ex partner Kristen Kringle, he was far too clever for that, then Edward knew what he would do and smiled to himself, time to relax now everything would be fine, he had a plan.

It was the early hours of the morning before Susan's mind finally began to shut down and drift into a heavy sleep, her dreams were strange and dark, they made no sense as dreams often do but she was stood in the middle of Gotham's downtown at the scene of a crime, a murder, police were swarming around and seemed not to notice her as they inspected the area for clues, everyone was there from the GCPD, Jim, Bullock, Barnes and Edward of course who was bent over the body carrying out his forensics duties.

'What's the score Ed?' Bullock asked bending over the body and recoiling away. 'Jesus christ.'

'Victim had been severely abused before ETD, heavy bruising to wrists and ankles, lacerations on the limbs and inner thighs, victim was eventually asphyxiated, without looking to much right now I'd say that there will be severe trauma here.' Edward's hang hovered over the corpse's pubic area and laughed nervously like some sort of schoolboy that had said something naughty.

Susan walked closer to get a look at the body and then wished she hadn't, the body on the ground was hers, she was looking down on herself, cold lifeless eyes staring up into the sky above, her skin bleached and peppered with purple bruises and deep red cuts. There was a banging noise in the air, it might have been gunshots she couldn't quite know, there it was again, Susan stepped back as Edward zipped the black bag over her corpses face and shook his head, 'Such a waste.'

Bang bang.

Susan jolted awake in her bed drenched in cold sweat, my God what a horrible nightmare, working at the GCPD was not doing her any favours, she felt sick to her stomach, the worst thing about it had been that it could actually happen to her now that she was back in Gotham, all it would take would be one psychopath to get her in their sights and she was done for. Susan's eyes flooded and she cried, harder than she'd done in years, she wanted to get away from here, she was so horribly depressed and miserable, "Please take me away." she whispered into her hands.

Bang bang.

Susan almost screamed at the sound coming from the hallway, it was on her door, she hadn't dreamt the sound at all, it was what had woken her from that vile nightmare; Susan was terrified, the clock on the wall read three fifteen am, she'd been asleep only a matter of minutes, half an hour at most. Frozen in the bed she waited for the noise again but it never came, instead a voice called out softly from behind the heavy wooden door.

"Susan?" the voice inquired, "Are you there?" She knew the voice immediately and got out of the bed running to the door and throwing it open to see a familiar face in the doorway which strained to see her at first then their face lit up, Susan thrust herself forward wrapping her arms around the man's neck and sobbing into his neck, the man hugged her back tightly and stroked her hair, "Susan, what's wrong, are you ok?"

"Khalish." Susan's tears were soaking the heavily built man's shoulder but it didn't matter right now. "Khalish, I-I-" she stammered and then fell into a fit of tears once again and he lead her inside and shut the door.

The man at the door was slightly shorter than Susan with a broad face and nose, his brown eyes were soft and full of concern as he led the hysterical woman over to the couch and they both sat together. Removing his overcoat he placed it around Susan's shuddering shoulders to reveal his thick tanned arms, the man placed one around her shoulders and pulled her over rubbing her arm and waiting for her to calm down and talk to him.

Khalish Daeng was one of the colleagues she had left behind when she had moved back to Gotham, she had never been happier in her to see his serene face when she opened the door. They had worked closely for many years and had even seen each other for a short time but that had been when she had first moved to Klang Valley in Selangor, after that they'd become very close friends working in the same division. When Susan had had to leave, Khalish had been retained by the Malaysian division due to the place being the country of his birth, she'd had to make such a quick goodbye and it had pained her ever since.

"Are you alright now?" he spoke softly letting her go.

"Yes," Susan said wiping her eyes and laughing a little, "I'm so sorry," she watched as he smiled widely and shook his head, "What are you doing here?" she said pulling him into another tight embrace. "How did you find me?"

"Oh you know me," Khalish laughed, "I have my ways." he parted from her and held her smiling gaze for a moment, "Our company phones have built in GPS trackers. It wasn't that hard to find you."

"Right." Susan said, how stupid, of course her GPS was turned on, it had been since Saturday morning when she'd looked to find a local store. "So what are you doing here?" Susan asked completely baffled with his sudden arrival.

"I asked for a transfer." Khalish said holding up his arms, "I'm going to be working back in Gotham!"


	12. A Streak Of Green

'I am always there but never here, I live to love but hate to live. I feed off passion but am always starving, I long for pain but hate its coming. I'm ever seeking but never finding, I wait and wait but it's always too late.'

* * *

Sunday had arrived, the day of rest. For Edward though, this was not the case, he had preparations to attend to that would require a full day of his attention, Susan would have to wait for now as much as the idea infuriated him, how dare Gordon escape from prison, what a boring inconvenience he'd have to remedy.

'He's not going to stop until he finds out who's framed him.' Edward thought to himself as he rummaged around in his storage cupboard and produced some wire cutters and tape. 'He's persistent that one, he doesn't know when to quit, when to know he's been bested.' Edward almost stomped over to his desk by the window and sat down fiddling with a length of wire as sirens screeched past down the rainy street outside. 'We've covered our tracks well enough though, this is just a precaution for an eventuality that's not going to happen, right? Right.' He confirmed to himself as he sat on the floor and measured the wire along the leg of one of his dining table chairs.

In the apartment next door Susan and Khalish were having breakfast and discussing Wayne Enterprises, "At least you got to stay internally." Susan said through a spoonful of cereal, "They've got me down at the GCPD."

"Eugh, How's that working for you?" Khalish said drinking his piping hot coffee and not flinching one bit at the scalding hot liquid.

"It's a mess. The systems are so outdated, everything is just slow, painful really. I should have been done by now but I'm about halfway through installation. It's waiting on deliveries mainly and trying to access work stations when the officers aren't using them, which is never." Susan sighed and carried on eating her breakfast.

"I would offer to help but they've assigned me to Lucius Fox's team. So I'm all tied up." Khalish said with a smug smile waiting for Susan to react.

"Lucius Fox," Susan said dropping her spoon in her now empty bowl, "Are you screwing with me?"  
Khalish shook his head, "Nope." He pulled out a badge from his pocket, an access card with his department details on it and handed it to Susan who inspected it and with a disappointed look shoved it back in his hand.

"Asshole." She said bluntly, it had been sarcastic but Khalish could still tell that Susan was extremely hurt she hadn't been chosen for the team, all she'd talked about when they first met was Lucius Fox and how she admired him, "You know that's the department I wanted."

"Yeah well I'll let you know if we get a vacancy." He said casually as if it was neither here nor there to him but he was just winding her up and it worked. Susan pressed her lips together and jabbed him with her foot under the table so that he nearly spilt his coffee, they both laughed long and loud.

Edward looked up from his task sharply on hearing the noise from next door, laughter, two voices, not one; he got to his feet immediately and stood completely silent listening carefully, there it was again, Susan's laughter there was no mistaking it but the one that accompanied he didn't recognise at all. It was undeniably the laugh of a man and the fact that it laughed in tandem with her own ruled out the possibility of something like the TV, there was a man in her apartment with her right now, it wasn't him and he didn't know how long he'd been there. Edward could feel something inside of him building and growing with every laugh that emanated from the wall, a mixture of fear and rage, something had happened that he didn't know about and Edward hated that, he was no longer in control, something had to be done.

'First Gordon, now this, as if I don't have enough to be dealing with already.' Edward thought as he walked to door and grabbed his keys off the side squeezing them tightly in his hand so much that they nearly cut into his flesh.

Susan heard a knock at the door and before she could move Khalish got up and held up his hands, "I'll get it, never know what psycho could be lurking down the hallway." Khalish laughed and Susan laughed with him as he opened the door. Khalish stared at the man before him who was wearing an irritated look, he raised and eyebrow as he took in the beanpole of a man and gave him a wide smile, "Can I help you?"

"Who are you?" Edward asked trying to keep his frustration at bay as he took in the image of the man stood in Susan's doorway, a man which couldn't be more opposite to himself.

"Excuse me?" Khalish couldn't believe his ears, this guy was rude.

"Who are you?" Edward repeated clenching his hands tightly, the one holding the keys digging deeper into his palm, "This is Ms. Lewis' apartment, you are neither Ms. Lewis nor is this your apartment. I will ask you again, who are you?" Edward was starting to get frustrated and it was apparent in his voice as it got louder.

Susan was watching from the table, trying to look around Khalishs wide frame but she couldn't see who was there, then she heard Edwards voice and stood up immediately walking over to the door when she heard his tone, "Edward, its fine I'm here." Susan said catching sight of him, he looked completely different, edgey and unhinged and then his eyes found her stood behind Khalish and he eased.

Edward looked Susan up and down at he gritted his teeth tightly in his mouth, she was wearing a dressing gown without any makeup and her hair was unbrushed, she looked like she just gotten out of bed, the man Khalish on the other hand was fully clothed and giving him a dubious look. "Good morning Susan, who is this?" he asked without hesitation, he wanted his answers and he wanted them now.

"This is Khalish Daeng..." Susan said taken aback by his tone, she'd never seen him so worked up before, it was endearing and somewhat terrifying at the same time, he was clearly quite upset, was he jealous? "Edward, Khalish and I used to work together in Malaysia." she explained placing her hand on Khalishs shoulder to try and move him aside but Khalish wouldn't move an inch and she could tell why, he found Edward in his current state to be quite threatening and he didn't know who the hell he was.

"Ah I see." Edward said staring at the man with a cold blank expression in his and an empty smile, Edward didn't care who he was, he wanted him gone.

"Khalish, this is Mr. Nygma, he's a forensic scientist at the GCPD, he lives next door." Susan said feeling Khalishs arm thick and tensed, ready to strike Edward out at any moment if he needed to.

"Pleasure to meet you." Khalish said sarcastically with a fake smile and nod of his head.

"And you also." Edward returned the same fake smiled and nod.

In that brief moment both of them knew they didn't like each other one bit and never would.

"Later Ed." Khalish said leaving Susan to attend to the bizarre man at the door.

Edward watched the man walk off casually and disappear into the apartment somewhere out of his line of sight, his mind occupied by dark thoughts and plans that may or may not come to fruition. Out of the corner of his eye he caught Susan stood waiting for him to acknowledge her, he looked down to her eventually, she was looking at him with such concern and worry in her eyes, his anger subsided but his paranoid mind kept turning.

"I heard loud noises and came to check to see if you were alright." Edward explained looking over her shoulder every now and then but he couldn't see the man so he kept his gaze on Susan instead, "I didn't expect you to have company. I didn't think you had any other friends in the city yet."

"It was a bit of a surprise to me." Susan said shortly, she didn't want to linger on the subject of Khalish much longer, she could tell the whole thing he really upset him. "Thank you for making sure I'm alright though Edward." she reached out and slid her hand affectionately over his upper arm for moment before she pulled it away. "What would I do without you huh?"

Susan's warm touch had eased his paranoia but it was still there, he wouldn't be satisfied or at peace until he could hold her in his arms and silence that pretty mouth with his, she looked even more inviting half dressed her bare neck and shoulders on show with her brown hair grazing her skin in a loose plait at the side. Edward longed to kiss that skin, from ear to collar bone; he pressed his lips together biting hard on the inside of his cheeks at the thought of sliding that dressing gown over her shoulders oh so slowly until it was down to her waist. Edward stopped his train of thought immediately and spoke, "Would you like to do something today? A walk, a coffee?" he suggested.

"Oh," Susan said coming back to reality, she'd found herself lost in those inescapable brown eyes of his again, "I can't today, I've got plans already." she said feeling terrible, as much as she loved Khalish and was so grateful to see him again she wished that she could change her plans to be with Edward but she couldn't.

"I see." Edward said in a high tone, expressing his disappointment in a cheerful fashion. "Just as well, I have things I need to attend to anyway. I hope you have a lovely day with your friend, sorry to bother you." Edward smiled, turned on his heel and walked off quickly.

"Another time maybe..." Susan called after him but it was too late he'd closed his apartment door and left her feeling awful, "...Edward." she trailed off sadly, shutting her own door.


	13. Monday Blues

'I may only be given but never bought. Sinners seek me but saints do not.'

* * *

The GCPD was in full swing by the time Susan arrived for work, officers were stood around holding coffee mugs looking gormless and lost in the absence of Jim Gordon who was still evading them; Susan sighed at the sight of them all, complete idiots without their pillar to support them, well, more like take the weight of their lazy asses. Susan pushed through the crowds carrying a delivery that had been left in the lobby of the station for her, anyone could have stolen it, there were important computer parts inside, or it could have been a bomb for all they'd known, they'd just left it sat there unattended for god knows how many hours.

Susan looked around the GCPD to see if she could catch a glimpse of Edward but he wasn't around, probably tied up in his office or the forensics lab with important work, more important than hanging about waiting for her to arrive at work, she imagined he was still upset with her about the discovery of Khalish in her apartment yesterday morning. Susan winced at the thought of how it had looked, herself barely covered, a man there Edward didn't know, the painful atmosphere that had passed between them and of course the fact that Susan had only just moved back to the city, how could she have known someone so quickly even if there was a valid explanation? To the riddle man of the GCPD who was used to worked with suspicious cases this probably equated to something upsetting but completely off the mark

The filing annex was empty when she arrived, she set the box down on the table and slumped down in the chair staring at the blank screen deciding what to do with today's eight hour shift, right now she didn't feel like doing anything at all but she had to get motivated somehow. Susan rubbed her eyes and shook her head trying to get Edward out of her mind but she couldn't, his final goodnight the evening they'd had dinner still lingered in her mind, such confidence in those deep drown eyes, eyes that she could feel looking right into her pressing deeper until she could feel it in her core. Those eyes of his had been so much different to the ones she'd witnessed yesterday, those eyes had been worrisome and jealous, dangerous and exciting. Which Edward was it to be that she wanted to look at her like that again?

The morning wore on and Susan got bored of waiting for a visit, he'd usually arrived by now but every time the door had opened she'd jumped up in her seat and then slumped back to discover it was just one of the officers, where was he? Susan decided to take matters into her own hands, she'd have to, she owed him more of an explanation than what she had given him the previous day at the door briefly. Susan made two cups of coffee and headed out into the department to look for him on her ten minute break, she didn't have long so she would have to use her time very carefully. There were only a couple of places where he could be, out here in the main department, at his desk or in the forensics lab. The department was still full of officers, no bespectacled man to be found here so she climbed up a metal staircase and tried his desk, empty also; Susan swallowed hard, she would have to go to the forensics lab, she'd been trying to avoid that place as much as possible, the place made her feel sick.

Susan knocked on the glass door and waited a moment, there was no sound from within and she couldn't see anything through the obscured glass, maybe he wasn't there or maybe he hadn't heard her, or worse, wasn't answering on purpose - her outline would be distinct to anyone within. "Edward," Susan said pushing the door open and looking inside, the place seemed empty however instead of shutting the door and leaving she felt compelled to enter, some morbid curiosity coming over her as she saw something lying on the table, it was a body.

Leaving the door slightly ajar so that she could make a quick exit if she had to she placed the two coffee mugs on a table near the door and folded her arms tightly around her, it was so cold in here but what did she expect, the stench would have been unbearable if the place were even slightly warm. Susan remembered her dream as she crept over to the table and tried to push it from her mind, the heady smell of chlorine and formaldehyde mixed together overpoweringly, smells she associated with Edward, she could smell them faintly on him sometimes when he came to visit her at work but the smells had eluded him over the weekend replaced with a discreet cologne that might have just been his natural scent.

There it was, only a few feet away, the cadaver of some poor soul, laid out with the black bag zipped open down to its sternum, Susan could clearly see now that it was a young woman and she stifled a whimper in her throat with her hand over he mouth, this was just like her dream, the woman was a blueish tinge, her eyes glazed over staring at the ceiling, covered in lacerations and bruises as much as she could see on the body, my god this was horrific but at the same time so fascinating.  
Susan had never seen a dead body in her life but she couldnt tare her eyes away as she stood beside the lifeless woman, no, a young girl, a girl with dirty wet matted blonde hair not much younger than herself. Susan felt disgustingly compelled to touch the girls skin to see how it felt now that life had left the body, she leaned over one hand jerkily moving towards the corpses forearm.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." A voice said from the other side of the room scaring Susan half to death and making her scream, heart pounding she looked over to see Edward perched on the side of the table near the door wearing his grey lab coat holding one of the coffee mugs in his hand.  
"Edward!" She acclaimed trying to catch her breath, "God you nearly gave me a hear attack."

"Tampering with evidence is highly frowned upon within the department you know." Edward retorted drinking his coffee but continuing to gaze at Susan in her nervous state, that had been a thrill, watching her morality fight against her curiosity and seeing which would win. Curiosity, surprising, Susan might have a dark side after all.  
"How long have you been sat there?" Susan asked clearing her throat and trying to compose herself.

"Long enough to know you were about two inches away from losing your job and getting a court summons." Edward grinned and then it faded away quickly, he'd far from forgotten about yesterday. "What are you doing here? Thinking about getting into forensics?"

Susan smirked at his choice of words, "Something like that," she said under her breath before speaking up. "Actually I came to see you."

"Oh?" Edward smiled cocking his head to the side as he did when something intrigued or amused him, "And why is that?"

"I haven't seen you around today, I thought you might be avoiding me." Susan admitted clasping her hands together and wringing her fingers feeling her cheeks burn, she hoped they wouldn't be reddening but in this cold she very much doubted it.

Edward laughed at her words, they were a mock laugh, "Of course not," he lied picking up her cup and holding it out to her, "I've been working on an important case, I just haven't had time to get to you yet."

Edward had been avoiding her, he'd seen her come in in the morning and look around searching, unusual Susan behaviour as she usually just walked straight in to her station in the filing annex, he knew because he'd waited every morning since her first day to watch her come in; he'd watched her from afar, looking up from her desk at various points of the morning, sighing, daydreaming, unable to concentrate, wrestling with her weak will and then eventually taking the initiative to go and find him. At first he'd hidden out of view whenever she'd come close to finding him and had pretty much given her no option left but to try in here with the freshly lain out body he'd set there.

It had all been a test to see how Susan would react being faced with death and he had found it so pleasurable to find out that her curiosity might even match his own, one wrong move and she could be playing dangerous games. The psyche was a fragile thing, easily tampered with, the mind bent until broken and then reformed.

"I feel somehow like I owe you an apology." Susan said reaching for the mug her held out, Susan's fingers slipped between his own and at first she thought he wasn't going to let it go but he released slowly sliding, almost dragging, his long fingers out through hers. "For yesterday." Susan wanted to say more but she found her voice gone as she watched him raise from the desk and move in towards her, Susan's heart was racing and her breathing heavy, cheeks burning. 'Kiss me.' She thought to herself lingering her eyes on his grinning mouth not daring to look in his eyes. 'God damn it Edward, just kiss me.' She begged in her mind willing him to hear.  
'Excessive blinking, dilated pupils, no eye contact, thighs pressed together, dopamine and oxytocin levels rising, breathing heavier, heart rate elevated.' Edward thought to himself, 'She's waiting for you to move in. One kiss won't damage the game.'

"I am just two and two." Edward started to say slowly and watched as Susan's eyes finally met his, darting across his face trying to figure him out, "I am hot. I am cold. I am the parent of numbers that cannot be told. I am a gift beyond measure, a matter of course. I am given with pleasure when taken by force." He said looking over her face, cheeks flushed, lips part ed, body almost quivering, she was really into this type of teasing.

A riddle... Was this how it would start? Susan already knew the answer but dare she speak it, dare she set the wheels in motion? Edward was waiting and she knew that he knew that she knew the answer.

"Kiss." Susan let the word escape from her mouth and saw him lean forward his nose an inch away from hers, smiling, his breath hot on her exposed collar bone between her white shirt.

"Correct." Edward grinned as he moved in and his lips connected with hers soft and gently, he could feel her trembling frame from his well planned seduction through that light delicate innocent little kiss, he didn't even have to lay a hand on her to tell how needy she was for him already.

There was a noise outside the forensics office and Susan pulled away afraid that they were going to be caught, she looked at Edward whose eyes heavy and dark after the kiss, she kiss still feel it against her tingling lips and she wanted to do it again but the noises outside and Edward's smug grin as he bit the corner of his bottom lip made her flustered and she fled from the lab.

Edward chuckled to himself, how sweet it would be now he had taken the first step into her mind, now he could break her down and build her back up again so she couldn't live without him; use her up and let her go, after all he'd have to, he'd learnt his lesson before.

A beautiful woman was a dangerous thing.


	14. A Load Of Bull

'I can be cracked, made, told and played.'

* * *

Susan sat at her desk the rest of the day trying to concentrate on her work but she couldn't, she was in such a good mood, she kept drifting in and out of daydreams, closing her eyes and remembering that kiss which she'd never dreamed could have been so perfect, it had been like being kissed for the first time and her heart fluttered as she hummed in the back of her throat feeling her ache, a schoolgirl innocence mixed with womanly lust, could anything be more beautiful.

Edward was a surprise to her, she'd imagined an awkward kiss unsure of each others mouth and how they would come together but instead she'd found him placing the lightest touch of hers, their lips barely even touching, it was sweet, careful and deliberate, a taste of what was really there. Susan knew it had been on purpose, leaving things unsaid between them as she'd fled from the forensics lab bustling past a group of officers that could clearly tell she'd been up to something from her bright red flushed cheeks and nervous jog back down to the filing annex.

"Hey," someone's voice said breaking her from her daydream, "Hey you." Susan looked around and saw detective Bullock leaning through the door, she'd spoken to him a few times before very briefly about something and nothing when he'd come to make coffee, "Computer's free if you want it." Bullock rolled his eyes and left the room letting the door slam shut on her.

Susan had been waiting to access detective Bullocks station for weeks, his had been the hardest to get her hands on, he was either using it or had locked it and gone out on cases and no one knew the password. Bullock's station was a mess of coffee mugs, unkempt files and sticky paper bags from lunches dating back to god knows when, it was pretty disgusting but she decided this was going to have to be the quickest job of her life.  
Bullock was hanging around with a file in his arm pretending to read it as he watched Susan over the top

of it with suspicious eyes, Susan knew he was looking at her and pressed her lips into a thin line furrowing her brow, she hated being watched when she was working even if he was doing a pretty piss poor job of covering it up.

"Any news on detective Gordon." Susan threw the comment out to him and he paused staring at her, it had obviously got his back up, she didn't care she didn't really like him anyway, though he was good at his job he always looked like a bum and had a feint hint of dry old whisky emanating from him, did the man actually clean his clothes, Susan felt sick.

"Nothing." He said dubiously, throwing the file on the desk so that it slid across and hit one of her typing hands, "Why do you ask?" Susan guessed he was trying to dig up as much information as possible on his ex partner, Bullock was convinced Jim was innocent.

"My dad used to work with his. We sort of knew each other when we were kids." Susan said trying to concentrate on the screen and get on with things but Bullock just stared at her.

"That right?" Bullock said with a tone that suggested he thought she was lying, he laughed, "Tell me, who's your dad? I knew all the men in the GCPD that every worked here." He leaned on the desk and waited for her to answer, his eyes boring into her skull, she looked up and stared back with a hard look.

"Andrew Lewis." She said coldly and Bullock stood up, no longer holding an imposing stance, he looked away over the GCPD as it buzzed around them.

"Sorry about your dad. He was a good man." Bullock said rubbing his rough face in embarrassment, Officer Lewis and his wife had been shot in their home, something to do with Falcone and internal affairs, there was little known about the case but they had been acquaintances and Lewis had been hard working and dedicated, he never knew he'd had a daughter but if she were anything like him she had her head screwed on pretty good.

Susan just looked at the computer before her, "Don't worry about it." She said coldly.

"Anyways, Gordon's not an idiot, he'll keep his head low until he finds out who framed him." Bullock said perching on the side of the desk and flipping through the brow file in his hand again.

"What about the evidence? I heard it was undeniable." Susan said but Bullock dismissed her comments and walked off shouting to one of the officers across the department and waving the file at him. "Moron." Susan said under her breath.

"Agreed." A voice said at her side, she looked up and Edward was stood there grinning at her no longer wearing his grey lab coat but instead his suit jacket and name badge.

Susan flushed and couldn't help but hold back a smile at the sight of him, she felt giggly and couldn't keep a straight face, Susan pressed her lips together to wet them and stifled a laugh, "Haven't you got important things you should be doing?" She said raising an eyebrow at him.

"Most probably," Edward said holding a clipboard to his chest, "Though at the rate these guys solve crimes and need their evidence I would probably have it all done by now and they wouldn't even look at it for weeks."

Susan gave him a smug little grin, he was so intelligent, too intelligent sometimes for his own good, Susan found it very attractive for a man to be so knowledgeable, she'd never been one to go for brawn over brains. Susan had never realised it at first because of how badly she had been wallowing in self pity about returning to Gotham when she first arrived but Edward was her only source of joy in this place, he'd been there to make her smile right from the first day and now instead of just a friend there was something more, something that actually made her want to stay.

"Finally got on Bullock's mess of a machine." Edward said looking as Susan sat amidst state, a pretty calm in the middle of chaos, she looked frustrated but who wouldn't be sat in all that, it was disgusting.

"I don't know how anyone can deal with...this." She said shoving a pile of papers, mugs and indescribably items aside in irritation, "No organisation, just muck and filth." Susan sneered as she put her hand in something nasty and recoiled, it was red. "Oh my god." She said starting to freak out, was is blood?

Edward watched Susan in her distressed state as she rose from her seat trying to flick the raspberry jam off her hand, he found it cute and at the same time gross, that stuff all over her, 'Oh look, she thinks it's blood.' His dark psyche said sarcastically, Edward shook his head, "Shut up." He said under his breath chiding his dark psyche, getting out a antibacterial tissue from his pocket, taking her hand and wiping it gently. "That's vile." Edward said making sure he got it all, "I'd say about two weeks old, there's mould."

"Jesus Christ. These people are pigs." Susan said watching Edward throw the tissue in the bin with a disgusted look.  
"When you two are quite done dawdling about and wrecking my desk I've got important work to do." Bullock said from the next desk along having witnessed the interaction between Edward and Susan, "I'll tell Kristen you've been flirting with other women when I see her." Bullock laughed along with some other officers in the vicinity.

Edward went rigid and felt a cold trickle down his spine at his ex partners name, Edward's smile faded and his eyes grew dark, how dare Bullock mention her name especially in current company, perhaps Susan hadn't picked up on it, he looked sideways at her, no she definitely had, her face was a mixture of shock and hurt, great just great, she was going to ask at some point who Kristen was.

Susan swallowed feeling the blood drain from her and she tried to remain smiling but it was an empty smile, did Edward have a girlfriend already? Why hasn't he said anything? Maybe it was just an inside joke, something they used around the department to ridicule Edward, maybe she was just thinking too much into things but she couldn't stand the thought that Edward might like someone else. There was still so much she didn't know about him.

"Screw this." Susan said shuffling out of Bullock's station irritated, she hated the GCPD. "I've got better things to be doing than trying to sort out this pigsty." She made sure that Bullock could hear her, hopefully the next time she came back it would be clean.

"I concur." Edward said letting her out and following her past Bullock, both of them giving the rough officer them same look of distaste as they passed by. Edward placed a hand on Susan's shoulder and she stopped in her tracks turning to him, "I am a kind of coat that can only be put on when wet. What am I?" He said and watched her half smile with a raised eyebrow.

"Paint...?" Susan answered watching his eyes light up at her very quick reply.

"Yes!" He smiled wider, "How about you accompany me to the Gotham art gallery this afternoon, I've got some final investigations to carry out on the case from the 'fake ' bombing last week."

"Edward, I'm working til five..." She reminded him but he raised an eyebrow back at her continuing to grin, "Are you asking me to play hookey with you?" Susan said quietly so that no one could hear.

"I am." He chuckled, "You game?"

"I dunno, what if we get caught?" Susan said thinking about the laborious workload ahead of her.

"I assure you, I never get caught." Edward said pushing his glasses up his nose, "They won't even miss us, look at them." He nodded over to the department and everyone was going about their business paying them no heed.

"We shouldn't be doing this." Susan said giving in to him with a sign.

"I know," Edward said as he watched the girl succumb to his darker side, "But no one ever had any fun by following the rules."


	15. Pride In Work

'I come in different colors and shapes. Some parts of me are curvy, some are straight. You can put me anywhere you like, but there is only one right place for me.'

* * *

Susan and Edward walked down to the tube stop both clad in warm winter coats and scarves, the evenings were becoming more bitter with every day that passed now and December was drawing nearer, it would be Susan's first Christmas back in Gotham and though she had previously dreaded its approach on her first arrival back to the city thinking she might have to push through it alone, she now welcomed the idea of the holidays, after all she did have someone to share it with.

"After you." Edward said as the train door slid open and beeped its warning holding out his arm in a gentlemanly fashion letting her board first, he watched as she got on and then he looked over his shoulder to make sure that they weren't being followed, no, they'd slipped out unnoticed.

Jim Gordon's continued evasion of police detection was getting on his nerves, he had to check the crime scenes to make sure that he hadn't left any sort of clue as to anything that would point at finger and lead Gordon back to him, mere precautions he told himself, just in case, but nothing would lead back to him. Would it?

'And why pray tell are we taking Susan with you on this little quest?' Edward's dark psyche asked with a sigh, 'We're going to get caught out carrying on like this, she's far from stupid. Not like that Kringle woman.' Edward took a deep breath and smiled at Susan when she looked up from her seat, the only free one there had been in the carriage and he'd graciously given it to her; Edward turned away when she looked down at her gloved hands again, "She'll find it interesting, I can't exactly leave her there with Bullock and those idiots, what if she hears something." Edward said to himself irritably, 'Oh right and bringing her with us isn't going to raise any suspicion.' His psyche answered with a snort, 'Hey, Ed, we both like this one a lot, she's going to ask about Kristen so watch it and don't let us fuck it up again.'

"I won't." Edward replied darkly.

"Won't what?" Susan said reaching up and touching Edward's hand, he turned immediately to look at her and laughed nervously; Susan had heard him mutter under his breath, it was odd but then again Edward was far from run of the mill, his quirks and habits had only made him more endearing to her and it wasn't out of the ordinary, she'd seen him doing it before, "Didn't you say something?"

Edward caught the concern in her face which she was trying to hide with a smile and soft eyes, her gloved fingertips hooked with his. One side of Edward relished in the game he could play whereas the other side, the side arguing with his dark self felt troubled, she'd begun to really care for him, he couldn't let a repeat of last time happen, he had to make sure he just kept this as a game and not something more though by now, although he didn't quite realise just yet, he was starting to fall for her.

"I did say something," Edward admitted, "I was thinking and spoke aloud by mistake. I was just thinking of this painting in the gallery which you would most probably find appealing and I was reminding myself that I mustn't forget to show it to you. Therefore 'I won't'." He kept his smile steady and watched as she gave him a sideways smile with narrowed eyes.

"I'm looking forward to it." Susan said as she felt the train slow at the next tube stop and jerked pulling their hands apart. "Is this the one we want?" She asked looking round as a few people disembarked.

"No, next one, central station." Edward replied sitting down next to her in the seat that had just come available as an old woman hobbled out of the carriage and the doors slid shut once again. The train jerked off and he felt Susan bump into him lightly.

"Sorry." They both said in unison, looking at each other and then looking away.

Edward let a giggle slip from his lips and then cleared his throat trying to compose himself, this whole thing felt strange and new to him, the feeling he had with Susan was different to what he had experienced with Ms. Kringle, he'd always felt like he was stepping on eggshells around Kristen, it had been a forced and difficult relationship right from the start, when he was with Susan things were more relaxed, he held the reins this time. It wasn't just that though, he thought to himself, Susan was more accepting of his character, she didn't find him weird and threatening like Kristen had when he had first tried to court her, he had never seen it at first but Kristen had never wanted Edward she'd only been lured into the relationship through his clever planning and murder.

'Isn't that what we're doing now?' Edward's dark psyche echoed in his mind again, 'Luring her into a false sense of security? We've planned each and every step of this little game since the first day we laid eyes on her.' Edward tried to ignore his other self but they continued, 'Albeit we haven't had to kill anyone yet but then again we might, what was that guys name again? Khalish? They looked terribly familiar with each other.' Edward felt his temper rising, yes they had looked very familiar with each other and he'd spent the night in her apartment, who knows what had happened, he and Susan weren't exactly an item that night and come to think about it, they weren't really now, there had been one kiss and a lot of unsaid words between them.

Edward looked at Susan, she was lovely, bright blue eyes with long lashes, wearing barely any makeup at all, her soft rich butterscotch hair curling in the humidity of the carriage under her black sleet peppered beret, an adorable heart shaped face framing a girlish smile and soft glow in her cheeks. There were small feint creases at the side of her eyes from smiling, giving away a clue that she had seen a happy life once and laughed tremendously but the feint dark circles under her eyes told a story of little sleep and too much work. Susan's long black woolen overcoat wasn't new or branded, he'd only seen her wear it recently and it was bobbled on the cuffs and along the button down front perhaps she'd picked it up second hand along with her scuffed brogues.

The train jerked again and announced central station which broke Edward from his thoughts, he got up and offered her a hand which she took more than happily and helped her down onto the platform of Gotham's main tube stop, right in the heart of Gotham. Edward expected Susan to release his hand but she kept it in his not letting go but holding loosely, was she testing to see if he would let go? Edward didn't and they climbed the metal stairs and cross the bridge into the main section of the station in silence, still holding hands, not saying anything to each other until they reached the lobby.

"Oh my god." Susan said seeing the cornered off area of the lobby where the explosion had happened from the recent bombing, there were bits of marble still littered around everywhere and police tape surrounding the site. "He really did a number on this place."

"Yes he did." Edward laughed and turned to Susan, he expected to see a look of shock but was surprised to see her amused expression, she'd started laughing herself, how bizarre, she was such a strangely intriguing woman, he felt a rush of adrenaline, it was almost like she was in on the joke and laughing with him, enjoying his work. Edward breathed in deeply and his chest swelled with pride, "Do you want to see more?" he asked, testing her curiosity.

"Yes." Susan smirked feeling like they were up to something they shouldn't be, which they were, she was supposed to be working but instead she'd run off with the GCPD's forensics scientist to get up to some 'mischief' as she liked to think of it. The idea of being at the scene of a recent crime she thought would have shocked her, made her feel uneasy but instead whilst holding onto Edward's hand she felt safe and thrilled, excited and rebellious. They were like two school kids ditching school for the afternoon to go buy liquor and smoke cigarettes in the park.

Edward loved the excitement in her eyes, it almost matched his own, he pulled her over to the side of the lobby where all of the lockers were located and stood across from them, he pointed over to one of the lockers where a green question mark had been spray painted to it, "That's where he planted the bomb." Edward smirked watching her look of awe turn into another bright smile, her eyes darting between him and the locker.

"This is fascinating." Susan said and she truly meant it, who knew that crime could be so exciting and colourful for that matter, she narrowed her eyes at the green question mark, somehow familiar, she dismissed the idea, Gordon had not been in his right mind and still wasn't for that matter but what if Bullock was right and Jim was innocent? The killer was still out on the loose if that was the case, Susan found that idea more likely than Jim being at the heart of things, it just didn't seem like a Jim Gordon thing to do, but what did she know. "I'm gonna go take a quick look." Susan said letting go of Edward's hand and walking casually over.

'Fascinating huh?' Edward's psyche decided to butt in on the moment, 'So cute.' he teased and Edward sighed closing his eyes for a moment, "Shut up, she likes what we did." Edward told his dark self, 'No Ed, she likes what Gordon is supposed to have done. Not us. We're not getting credit for any of this incredible puzzle, she's not commending us because she doesn't know AND,' his dark self spoke up at the end, 'She won't ever know. Right?'

"Right." Edward huffed and rolled his eyes watching Susan inspecting the locker, his little computer whiz turned crime addict, Edward grinned, if only he could tell her, such a shame, he liked to imagine she'd been impressed with the perfect crime he'd committed if he told her but no, she would scream in horror and try to run like Kristen did, then she would have to die. "Susan." he called over and she turned round startled, he nodded his head toward the exit and she walked back over. "Would you like to see some art my dear?" He asked pushing his hands into his coat pockets.

"Lead the way Ed." Susan said hooking her arm in his.

Edward felt the sudden embrace and closeness to him, he'd not expected it and it had made his heart jump, the warm affection surrounding his limb, freely given and not forced. Edward's brow furrowed for moment in anguish which seeped away faster than it had appeared, unbeknownst to him the bond to her he thought was only an illusion, a game he'd planned, was now becoming real and truly starting to grow but by the time he would finally realise, it would be too late.


	16. Pieces of The Puzzle

'You heard me before, and then again. Afterward I die, until you call me again.'

* * *

When Edward and Susan finally arrived at Gotham art gallery having bustled their way through swarms of crowds congesting the pavement they entered the lobby and headed over to where a long queue was stood in front of the entrance desk, Susan knew that the gallery was one of Gotham's main tourist attractions and that there was always a queue though she hadn't expected it to still be so long late in the day. Susan sighed and went to pull Edward to the back of the line but he didn't move with her so she turned around to see why and found him giving her a furtive look.

"In many hall ways you would stand, if not with me in hand." Edward said quickly and timing the response from her, this was a pretty easy riddle, he was being too kind. "What am I?"

"A key?" Susan said with feigned doubt and saw Edward grin holding up hid GCPD badge.

"No need to be standing around for no reason, being part of the GCPD has it little perks." Edward responded letting go of his badge and leading her round the side of the queue to the front as people tutted and complained at the gall of this couple.

As soon as they reached the front of the queue Edward released her hand approaching the female security guard that was giving him a suspicious look, "Back of the line guys." she said trying to shoo them off but Edward held his ground with Susan stood behind him looking round his side.

"Oh no no no." Edward laughed pushing his glasses up, the guard placed her hands on her hips expecting an argument from the obviously disgruntled tourist, "I don't think you quite understand, we need to get in, we don't have time to wait. So if you could just let us in that would be fabulous."

"Excuse me?" the security guard said reaching for her radio in case she needed to call for some sort of assistance, Gotham was full of weirdos and this guy looked just the type to kick up a fuss. "I don't think you understand me," she said bringing herself up to her full height but it still wasn't enough to bring herself anywhere near his, "No exceptions, you wait in turn just like everyone else."

"Ah, that's not going to be possible." Edward was toying with her, a short little power struggle game that he could end at any moment but they were short of time so he produced his badge, "We need access to exhibit room C, forensics, GCPD." Edward cocked his head and gave her a smug smile as she inspected the badge and slumped back with her hand releasing the radio at her side. "Many thanks."

"This way." the security guard said with a huff undoing a rope divider and gesturing for them to enter leaving behind the extensive queue now in a slight uproar.

Exhibit room C was still closed off to the public until further notice, most of the investigation and analysis had been completed but under protocol there had to be a certain length of time left before it would be open again for tourist enjoyment, just in case the police needed to carry out any further checks on the place. Of course Edward knew that being part of the team heading those checks there was nothing left at all, well, not that anyone other than himself would notice. Edward just wanted to make sure, even he could make mistakes, he was just beginning.

"This it?" Susan said approaching the centre of the room where a large grenade shaped sculpture was taped off, just like the exploded statue in the station, Edward nodded, her signal that it was okay to go and have a look. "Art huh?" Susan said stepping over the tape carefully and circling the thing, "Guess each to their own." she shrugged, Susan thought that it was ugly and garish, why on earth would anyone want to come and look at a sculpture of a bomb, morbid curiosity she imagined, people liked the macabre, it was intriguing and not something you were supposed to admit to liking.

"I didn't really find it agreeable either." Edward said and then realised his poor choice of words, idiot.

"Wish he'd blown this one up too?" Susan looked over to Edward smiling and climbing back over the tape, she'd seen enough of that thing. "I do."

'Oh ho ho.' Edward's dark psyche laughed, 'Ed, looks like we've got that start of a criminal on our hands here, maybe we should turn her in. Even better, let her join in with us.' it joked. Edward ignored his dark psyche's jibes, Susan was just interested in things she'd not experienced before, she was curious about everything especially crime, this might have stemmed from her father's side, he being a GCPD officer before his demise, Edward had done his background search on her, he knew everything there was to know about her life before she'd left for Kuala Lumpur. Yes, just a curious creature but he knew where curiosity led. "Yes well, this was only a distraction."

"Oh yeah," Susan said with realisation looking around, "What about the paintings?"

Now this was something Edward wanted to show her, his signature mark, he led her over to one of the far walls where they were greeted with more yellow tape and he pointed at the empty frame on the wall which now housed a single spray painted question mark. Susan made a 'hmph' noise which made him looking away from admiring his handiwork to see her stood with arms folded inspecting the mark.

"Question mark, that's not very Jim Gordon, its a bit...hmmm...I dunno how to put this," Susan couldn't decide on the right word, show off, flashy, pompous, "Pretentious?" she offered and Edward gave her a strained look. "No. Wrong word." Susan stopped herself placing a finger on her lips and swaying her hips a smile growing in the corners of her mouth, "Flamboyant. That's what I meant. Jim, although he used to be a nice guy was never flamboyant," she thought of the conversation with Harvey earlier about Jim's innocence, "Perhaps Bullock was right, maybe we do have the wrong person."

Alarm bells rand in Edward's head, maybe this had been a bad idea after all, Susan didn't think like the rest of the GCPD officers mainly because she wasn't one, she hadn't been ground down from years of seeing the same cases over and over, she was more open and willing to accept the impossible no matter how improbable that could be, 'Uh oh' Edward's dark psyche butted in again, 'I said we shouldn't have brought her, girl's got a quick mind.'

"Maybe he did want to show off finally," Edward said trying to sway the subject, his temper rising, "Maybe leave something behind that people would remember him by. The evidence was completely solid, I checked through it all myself."

"I'm not doubting you Edward." Susan said taking his hand at his irritated tone, "It's just this whole plan and ploy all seems too..." Susan paused watching Edward giving her a hard dark look, she'd clearly upset him by questioning his ability as a forensic scientist, "It just seems too clever for someone like Jim Gordon, too much effort, like Jim would be the sort of person to have just killed that officer and had done with it, not lead up to it with a big...a big...puzzle." Susan took his other hand, "It's so much planning and dedication...that's not Jim, that just screams someone else to me, someone extraordinary."

'Oh crud.' Edward thought, the blood draining from his face as she looked up into his eyes and held his gaze in silence. 'She knows, oh shit, she knows...'

Susan saw Edward's stunned look at her words, what was she saying, it was like she respected this criminal for his extravagant work, come to think of it, she did, she truly felt her instincts screaming at her that none of this was Jim, she believed Bullock. God knows what was running through Edward's mind right now, had she put him off her through her fascination, through her own want to figure this all out too, "That's not to say I'm condoning any of this!" she said quickly, horrified at her words and own high regard for this crime. "Oh god that sounded awful. What am I saying."

Edward could only stare at her in front of him looking so ashamed and biting her lip not looking at him, he knew that she didn't think it was him but still her words had filled him with delight and the ego of his dark side had swelled enormously, Susan had been drawn in by her curiosity and it had knocked her rational thinking, Susan had pretty much commended him for his brilliant efforts without even realising it, she was impressed by all of this. Flamboyant, clever, extraordinary, the words tumbled round and round in his mind, all said positively, like she were talking about a piece of art in the gallery, something to be admired.

"You find all this intriguing?" Edward said slowly.

Susan felt so ashamed she couldn't even look him in the eyes, she didn't just find it intriguing, she found it unbelievable that if its wasn't Gordon someone had pulled this off and gotten away with it not leaving a trace behind, every inch covered, she couldn't lie to Edward, he needed to know what she truly thought and then he could make up his mind about her, "If it wasn't Jim...its incredible. For someone to do this...frightening but amazing...Genius." she said closing her eyes and waiting for him to pull his hands from hers but they just grasped tighter.

"I thought I was the only one." she heard Edward say and she opened her eyes and looked up to see his face full of joy and the biggest smile she'd ever seen on his face.

"You...you don't think it was Gordon either?" Susan stammered watching him shake his head vigorously, her mouth trembled into a smile, "You think they're still out there somewhere?" and he nodded excitedly, "Shouldn't we do something? Shouldn't we try to get the case reopened?"

"No." Edward laughed, "They'd just say we're crazy,"

Susan knew he was right, the only person that would believe them would be Bullock and Susan didn't fancy the idea of going undercover and letting herself fall victim to the whims of a dangeous killer out there somewhere, if it wasn't Gordon after all then Gordon would make sure that he tracked down the real killed along with Bullock's help, they would be brought to justice eventually, Susan and Edward didn't have to do anything.

"Is this why you brought me here?" Susan asked and Edward's laughing ceased, "You wanted to see if I could figure this out? Whether I was intelligent enough to realise it too?"

Edward looked into Susan's large blue questioning eyes as he held tightly onto her warm hands, this woman before him that admired him though she didn't even know it, she was more beautiful to him now in this moment more than all the times he'd beheld her before. Edward felt calm, almost whole, no voice screaming in his head at him for once, she was like the missing piece of the jigsaw puzzle that was him and then darkness flooded his mind, he could not let anything get between them now, he would have to get Gordon back in jail somehow, he would never be able to rest until he did.

"Edward?" Susan said trying to break him out of his daze, then there it was she saw it in his eyes like she had done before, a dark confidence that made her freeze on the spot as she saw that familiar teasing grin start to appear. Susan faltered under his gaze, her heart thumping, lips drying and an ache she'd felt this morning in the forensics lab; they were no longer two naughty kids ditching school but two adults remembering that raw tender feeling of new found lust for one another.

"I'm here." Edward said letting go of one of her hands and reaching it up to her face where he skimmed her cheek pushing aside her hair from her face and neck, he felt Susan quiver at the graze of her skin, he loved the way she did that. Edward knew from their conversation in that place, the scene of his brilliant crime, that he now held her mind, there was one thing left to make sure that she was his, he leant forward and whispered in her exposed ear, "I like to twirl my body but keep my head up high. After I go in, everything becomes tight." he felt Susan let out a tiny startled cry from his words and he smiled.

"I-I don't know this one." Susan couldn't think, after those words she found herself dazed and flustered, aching so badly it almost hurt, he was waiting for an answer but she didn't know, "I...don't..." was the only thing she could say before he pulled back with his face meeting hers.

"I'll tell you after I take you out to dinner tonight." Edward grinned.


	17. Parasol Politeness

'I run smoother than any rhyme, I love to fall but cannot climb.'

* * *

The two escapees hadn't been noticed, no one had been looking for them and no one really had cared to in the first place, when they had returned back to the GCPD everything was just as they had left it, a chaotic mess of phones ringing, people screaming and shouting over the department to each other and officers idling around their desks or swinging about on chairs. The place could have easily been mistaken for Gotham zoo, which incidentally was mentioned in passing by Susan to Edward and he'd liked her anthropological interest so had suggested it to be their next outing on the weekend as they made their way back to work to finish up the day, what was left of it.

Susan was in her apartment looking in the mirror and flattening the black dress she had on around the middle part, huffing and sighing because the dress was old and too tight, middle age was starting to creep up on her, perhaps time for a flash diet? Maybe she was just being paranoid, she barely weighed nine and a half stone, its just the dress wasn't right. Strewn across the bed were all the other choices she'd turned down, clothes that had once been suitable for the hot climate of Kuala Lumpur but now completely useless in the cold Gotham winter, although, she thought, they were going to be inside a warm restaurant. Making the quick decision to keep the black dress she tided away all the others and slipped on her black heels, the first time she'd worn them in such a long time and it felt unusual to be so elevated, oh well, they had their perks, they would raise her up to a more comfortable height in line with Edward, that would make their potential kisses much easier, he being well over six foot and her a foot smaller or so.

Brown hair freshly washed and pulled into a loose ponytail, her hair curled around her face; a little more makeup than she usually afforded at work with red tinted lips and shadowy cat eyes, her slim fitting off the shoulder black dress silhouetted her curved figured and topped with pearl earrings and necklace to match, the only thing she had left of her late mother; she felt like this was another person staring back at her in the mirror, she'd never made an effort like this when she were dating Khalish or anyone for that matter, she hadn't felt the need to but things were different with Edward, she felt sure that things were going to move forward with him, it was odd to feel so certain about someone, so sure that it wasn't just lust that fuelled her, that it was something different this time from all the rest. Susan just felt right, like he was the missing part of her she'd been waiting for, holding all heart from those other lovers at bay because she knew eventually one day he would appear.

Susan pulled on her black overcoat and beret, grabbed her bag and keys from the side and took one final look in the mirror at herself, this was it, it would be tonight, she was sure of it. Officially Susan and officially Edward, she sighed and left the apartment and headed for the tube stop, Edward had had to work a little late and said he would meet her at the restaurant; when she left the building and stood under the canopy at the front of the apartment the rain was pouring down in buckets, she was going to get absolutely soaked, her efforts ruined. A cab would be expensive at this time of night, for some reason the fares went up, apparently not many taxi drivers wanted to work the evening shift, that was when all the weirdos came out in the city or at least they were more apparent but she had no choice.

Susan waved for taxis that went skidding by but none of them slowed down at all for her, instead one had come purposefully close to soak her and she'd only just darted back under the canopy to avoid the spray, she shouted after the taxi angrily and looked at her watch backing into the doorway, a quarter to seven, the meal was booked for half past and time was ticking on, she'd have to make a dash for the tube station and hope she wouldn't get to badly soiled. Susan took a step out and felt the heavy splatters on her head and shoulders and then on her face and backed up.

"Give me a break!" She shouted at the heavens wiping her face. Susan tried to flag another taxi but still it sped passed and as she watched it go she could sight of something coming down the barely lit street towards her and she froze pulling her coat about her and backed into the doorway a little more.

Susan watched as the figure got closer and she strained her eyes to try and make out the black form, it was a man, a short man, walking, no, hobbling, towards her carrying a large black umbrella above his head. Susan relaxed and softened taking in the poor unfortunate crippled man trying to make his way through the night, at least he had something to cover himself she thought, though she didn't bare thing of what date awaited the man that could barely walk let alone run from anything. She expected the man to pass her by but instead he slowed and approached the doorway and then noted she was stood there, he'd obviously not noticed her at first from the look on his face.

"Good evening." The man said to Susan with an awkward grin his eyes darting about like he was shy or skittish.

The man was about five foot four, shorter than herself anyway, despite the large umbrella over his head big enough to have fit three of him under, his black hair was plastered to his forehead, his eyes were dark and sunken with black circles underneath picking out the bright green of his eyes, so piercing but joyful almost; the thing Susan noticed the most was his nose, long, thin and pointed, he reminded her of some sort of bird and his mannerism matched. The man was wearing a black suit and white shirt ensemble, with a neatly tucked tie and purple waistcoat, he looked like he had or had had money at some time, though his pallid complexion and skinny appearance suggested he might have not been eating, or sleeping, soundly for weeks.

"Do you live here miss?" The man asked her folding up his umbrella and giving her a toothy smile, he looked at her win staring eyes, not the type of stare Edward would give her, this was slightly uncomfortable.

"Yes I do." Susan answers plainly looking past the man to see if she could dash over to the tube quickly, she felt like she was going to be robbed by this guy, or worse, murdered.

"Oh wonderful, then please tell me, might Mr. Nygma be at home." He asked with a joyful little giggle which bordered on creepy, she felt her skin ripple with unease.

"Edward?" Susan asked creasing her brow, the man note her caution.

"Oh it's fine! We're good friends, I've come to tell him some news." He said his smile fading for a moment so that she saw a glimmer of pain. Friends? They were friends? Susan chided herself for her thoughts, of course Edward had friends, even if they were a little odd but then of course Edward was odd to most people, a friendship between these two didn't seem entirely impossible.

"I'm sorry, erm...she paused looking at the man.

"Oswald. Oswald Cobblepot." The man said reaching out at a long slender hand to her which she took expecting it to be cold and slimy, it was cold but no slime.

"Susan." She replied with as much of a smile as she could manage, she certainly wasn't going to let him have her last name, he could still be lying to her. "He's not in, he's at work, well he's probably finished now."

"Oh well perhaps I'll just wait inside, if he'll be returning soon." Oswald smiled pressing his lips together and looking up at her with his frighteningly friendly eyes, too friendly.

"He's not coming back yet, I don't think he will be until later." Susan said and saw the confused expression on Oswald's face, his eyes narrowing a bit but not loosing his smile. "We're going out to dinner." She offered him a bit more and then it dawned on him as he quickly looked Susan up and down.

"Oh, forgive me, are you and Edward," he trailed off giving her a strange mixed expression, it was happiness and for some reason perhaps that might be a twinge of hurt, maybe Edward was his only friend, that would not have surprised her at all. "That is to say, are you,"

"We work at the GCPD together and I live next door." Susan said cutting him off and saving him any embarrassment.

"I-I wasn't implying..." Oswald stammered trying to find what to say.

"It's fine Mr. Cobblepot. I'll tell Edward that you stopped by." Susan said giving him a forced smile and looking back out onto the heavy rain, it wasn't easing.

"It's Oswald." He said behind her and she turned around to look at the pitiful man, "Just Oswald." He smiled, he was trying to make another friend she knew that now, a friend of Edward's would be a friend of his it seemed. "He showed me a great deal of kindness when I was in need. I always said I would return it one day, maybe I can start now." He held out the umbrella towards her and she looked down and then back up at him, "Please." He said, his tone almost a beg and she felt so ultimately sorry for this creature, much like her Edward, she felt awful for thinking of the man so poorly, what on earth was wrong with her? Oswald just gave her an uneasy feeling, it wasn't just his looks, he had an aura about him and she couldn't quite tell what it was but something smelt fishy.

"Thank you Oswald." Susan said taking the umbrella from him.

"Make sure to tell him I said hello, I'll stop by again when I have a spare moment from my duties." Oswald said doing an awkward bow to Susan and starting to walk off in the same direction that he'd appeared but as she watched he stumbled to a halt and turned around still grinning, this time pointing at her, "He is a very interesting man,"he needs a lot of support, make sure you take care of him." he laughed, "He certainly doesn't need another heartache on his hands." and with that Oswald turned and walked into the rainy darkness and disappeared from sight.

Susan stood holding the black parasol over her like a cloud of darkness, she was thankful for meeting Edward's friend Oswald for the umbrella but at the same time regretted every moment of it, there was another woman, or there had been, what had her name been, she remembered the officers speaking it earlier that day and she had meant to mention it to Edward. Kristen. That was it. Who was Kristen, and what had happened between them?


End file.
